This year marks the centenary of the birth of Historian/Philosopher Michel Foucault (1926 – 1984) and the 50th anniversary of the French publication of Histoire de la sexualité: La volonté de savoir. A giant of French poststructuralist thought, Foucault can be seen as the progenitor of contemporary queer theory and the field of biopolitics. Foucault remains a stalwart of the humanities and his influence extends far beyond the bounds of traditional philosophical discourse to areas such as sociology, criminology, and politics.

At Deakin Downtown on September 8, 2026 at 10:30 AM (AEST) this event will bring together current graduate students as well as additional contributions from those with a background in Foucault's oeuvre to reflect on the legacy and continued influence of Foucault's work.

Event Schedule:

10:45 – 12:15 Graduate Panel 1

Will Pan (Deakin University), Power and Ideology; Foucault and Althusser. On the inherent contradiction between subject and structure

Isaac Price-Kelly (Deakin University), On Foucault’s 1953-1954 Psychological Causality Lectures

Cristian González Arévalo (University of Freiburg), Voluntary Submission and the Aesthetics of Form: Foucault, Robbe-Grillet, and the Creative Reconfiguration of Power

1:00 – 2:30 Short Panel Session on the ‘Legacy of Foucault’

Introductions by Lauren Pedersen-Hor (Deakin University)

Dr. Christopher O’Neill (Monash University)

Dr. Fiona Druitt (University of Melbourne)

Dr. Lachlan Ross (University of Melbourne)

2:45 – 4:15 Graduate Panel 2

Max Hoddinott (University of New South Wales), How to Talk about Human Rights in Occupied Iraq

Ashlee Wilson (Deakin University), Pastoral Power and the Production of the Anticipatory Reproductive Subject

Joel Duggan (University of Melbourne), Dude Where’s My Dole? Governmentality in the 21st-century welfare state

All are welcome, we hope you will join us for this exciting and thought provoking day!

This is a hybrid event supported by zoom. Zoom attendance does not require an RSVP with eventbrite.

Zoom link: https://deakin.zoom.us/j/82961833454?pwd=7vKvwKZFKdOhZbHnjJxmTGjte5WKrt.1

Meeting ID: 829 6183 3454 // Password: 07841049

This meeting is at 10:30am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) 8 September 2026 [12:30am UTC 8 September 2026]

*Lunch catering will be provided for in person attendance, please be sure to RSVP on the eventbrite page

**We also would like to thank the incredible generosity of the Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy (ASCP) and Deakin University's Philosophy and Religious Studies research group (PHIRES) for their support and funding for the event.

For any queries please email [email protected]