Short description
Part of the "College de France Lecture Series", this work charts a development in Michel Foucault's thinking. This work explores the birth of the modern nation state in the Eighteenth Century through an analysis of its adminstration of institutionalized power relations, beginning with the fundamental technologies of security.
Long description
This new title in the "College de France Lecture Series" charts a new development in Michel Foucault's thinking. Starting from the notion of 'bio-power' developed in the previous 1976 course, Society Must be Defended, Foucault explores the birth of the modern nation state in the Eighteenth Century through an analysis of its adminstration of institutionalized power relations, beginning with the fundamental technologies of security.
Review
The English translation of Security, Territory and Population is a major event not only for Anglophone readers of Foucault's work, but for all those concerned with understanding our present social and political condition. These lectures show that the trenchant analysis of biopower, power over life, which Foucault had begun in the first volume of the History of Sexuality and which he pursues here in terms of technologies of security, led him to a decisively deeper and more radical formulation of his guiding problematic--what he called the government of the self and others --the issue that would serve as the basis for all his subsequent work. Security, Territory and Population might thus properly be called the 'missing link' that reveals the underlying unity of Foucault's later thought... Burchell's translation is meticulous, supple, and attentive to the nuances of Foucault's fluid lecture style. We all stand in his debt. -- Kevin Thompson, Book Review Editor, Continental Philosophy Review, Department of Philosophy, DePaul University, USA These lectures offer the wonderful opportunity of witnessing a great mind at work. In answering the question of whether the general economy of power in our societies is becoming a domain of security Foucault is never less than erudite, insightful and challenging. Here, probably better than anywhere else, we see the nature of his thoughts on the rationality of modern government. -- Jeremy Jennings, Department of Politics, Queen Mary, University of London, and editor of The European Journal of Political Theory Security, Territory, Population' is a stunning display of Foucault's skills of historical research and theoretical insight. Exploringthe emergence of 'bio-power'and the 'techniques of security' designed to shape and regulate populations from a distance, Foucault looks beyond disciplinary power to a distinctively modern form of government through freedom. Accessible and highly readable, these lectures have much to tell us about our contemporary situation. -- James Martin, Department of Politics, Goldsmiths, University of London
Table of contents
- Foreword - Introduction - 11 January 1978 - 18 January 1978 - 25 January 1978 - 1 February 1978 - 8 February 1978 - 15 February 1978 - 22 February 1978 - 1 March 1978 - 8 March 1978 - 15 March 1978 - 22 March 1978 - 29 March 1978 - 5 April 1978 - Course Summary - Course Context - Index of Notions - Index of Names