“LIAS Lecture: Coercion or Discourses – On Foucault’s Extension of Marx’s Theory” – Lecture by Alex Demirović
29. Oct
6:00pm, Lecture Hall 5
In this lecture, LIAS Senior Fellow Alex Demirović will shed light on Michel Foucault's ambivalent relationship to the work of Karl Marx. He was often very critical, if not explicitly dismissive, of Marx and Marxism. But there are also positive references.
Not only according to Etienne Balibar, one key to Foucault's work is his lifelong engagement and struggle with Marx. Jacques Bidet has also attemted to prove that Foucault's analyses can be read as complementary to Marx's analyses.
According to this thesis, Foucault's studies on technologies of power can be seen supplemented the aspect of organization. Demirović goes one step further and puts forward the thesis that Foucault – similar to the feminist discussion – takes up questions from Marx where the latter breaks off his argumentation. Demirović illustrates this at two central points, namely the concepts of discipline and security. Understanding Marx's ideas in the light of Foucault's development can help to resolve the aporias of critical social theory, such as base and superstructure, structure and action, anonymity of domination or intentionality.
Alex Demirović was teaching Critical Theory in the disciplinary context of sociology and political theory at universites in Frankfurt, Vienna, Basel, Lüneburg. His publications are concerned with issues of power, democracy and state, societal relations to nature, racism, economic democracy.
Alex Demirovic, LIAS Senior Fellow
A cooperation between Leuphana Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) and the Center for Critical Studies.
Leuphana Campus, Lecture Hall 5
The lecture is followed by a reception.
Contact: lias@leuphana.de