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 | | From: | Kevyn Winkless | | Subject: | Foucault and the Subject | | Date: | Wed, 19 Jan 2005 08:08:24 -0600 |
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Foucault is referred to by a lot of people in cultural anthropology
these days, but I'm just starting to delve into his works now in an
attempt to get a handle on his conception of the subject and the
author. I'm finding it a bit confusing.
As far as I can tell, Foucault claims the subject doesn't really exist
- it's just a fiction created by the author in the context of
discourse. But surely the subject - as the Other - really does exist?
Surely there really is an Other who is different from the Author? I
might grant that the Author's conception of the Subject may not be a
completely accurate representation of the Other, but what Foucault
seems to be saying is that there really aren't any differences between
the Author and the Subject, and that positioning the Subject as an
Other is merely a method used by the Author of exerting power over
him.
As you can see from the above, I'm not very clear on the subject, but
if anyone can unravel my sentences and see where I'm going wrong I'd
appreciate some direction. Are there any good discussions about this
concept that you would recommend?
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