This seminar is the second part of an introduction to French political philosophy since 1945. Having focused on Existentialism (mostly on Sartre, Camus and Beauvoir) as well as Structuralism (mostly on Althusser and Barthes) in the previous semester, this semester will revolve around Post-Structuralism widely understood (especially Foucault, Deleuze and Derrida). Although the seminar continues straightforwardly from the previous discussions, it is explicitly open for new students. It three general aims are: Firstly, we want to get an overview of the rapid development in French political philosophy. Secondly, we want to see what commonalities we can find in the (fervid) disputes between the different theorists: What are the shared themes, concepts or problems from which we can understand the different theories? Thirdly and finally, we will analyse the respective concepts of politics and the respective tasks attributed to political theory as they appear in the thoughts of the different theorists.
Preparatory Reading
Gutting, Gary (2011): Thinking the Impossible. French Philosophy since 1960. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Angermüller, Johannes (2007): Nach dem Strukturalismus. Theoriediskurs und intellektuelles Feld in Frankreich. Bielefeld: transcript.