Discipline & Institutions, Individuality & Desire:

Foucault, Derrida, Jameson and Rorty

Presentation Aims and Outline

• To discuss the key terms and main arguments of the essays by Foucault, Derrida, Jameson and Rorty

• To question the relationships between these four essays through group discussion

Michel Foucault

“Panopticism”Taken from Surveiller et Punir (1975)

Key Terms for Foucault

• Panopticon -

• “discipline” –

Foucault’s Main Arguments

Jacques Derrida

“The Principle of Reason: The University in the Eyes of Its

Pupils”Essay printed in Diacritics (1983)

Cornell University, Ithaca

Key Terms for Derrida

• raison d’être –

• “au large” –

• gegrundet -

Derrida’s Main Arguments

Fredric Jameson

“Postmodernism &

Consumer Society”

Combination of “Postmodernism and

Consumer Society” (1983) and “Postmodernism: The Cultural

Logic of Late Capitalism” (1984)

The Bonaventure Hotel

Key Terms for Jameson

• postmodernism –

• pastiche (versus parody) –

• la mode rétro –

• “postmodern hyperspace” –

Jameson’s Main Arguments

Richard Rorty

“The Inspirational

Value of Great Works of

Literature”Taken from Achieving our

Country (1998)

Key Terms for Rorty

• “knowingness” –

• “analytic philosophy” –

• “inspirational value” –

Rorty’s Main Arguments

Questions for Discussion

• Is Bentham’s Panopticon similar to Derrida’s university? How are sight or vision relevant in both Foucault’s and Derrida’s arguments?

• Is Rorty’s idea of the “inspirational value” of literature conservative? Does it conflict with Jameson’s definition of the postmodern in art?

• How does individuality figure in each of the four essays? What about power?

• What is the value of education or the university? What is the value of “great works of literature”?

Works CitedDerrida, Jacques. “”The Principle of Reason: The University in the

Eyes of Its Pupils.” Everyday Theory. Eds. Becky McLaughlin and Bob Coleman. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 104-126.

Foucault, Michel. “Panopticism.” Everyday Theory. Eds. Becky McLaughlin and Bob Coleman. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 163-187.

Jameson, Fredric. “Postmodernism and Consumer Society.” Everyday Theory. Eds. Becky McLaughlin and Bob Coleman. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 201-215.

Rorty, Richard. “The Inspirational Value of Great Works of Literature.” Everyday Theory. Eds. Becky McLaughlin and Bob Coleman. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 147-154.

* Bibliographic Information Taken From:<http://www.wikipedia.org/>

Image Sources

• Figure 1 - <http://www.fsu.edu/>• Figure 2 & 3 - <http://www.wikipedia.org/>• Figure 4 - <http://www.wikipedia.org/>• Figure 5 - <http://www.cornell.edu/>• Figure 6 -

<http://sun3.lib.uci.edu/indiv/scctr/wellek/jameson/>• Figure 7 - <http://www.coloradocollege.edu/>• Figure 8 - <http://www.at-la.com/westinbv/>• Figure 9 - <http://www.feldmanfurniture.com/>