Foucault News

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

International Workshop
Nietzsche, Genealogy, Foucault: History between between Life and Power
School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon
14th June 2022
Event organized as part of the Praxis-CFUL 

Keynote Speakers:
Keynote Speakers:
João Constâncio (NOVA University Lisbon)
Daniele Lorenzini (Warwick University)

Much has been written regarding genealogy, either as a new philosophical interpretation of History, a methodology or as a critical project. The number of published works on the issue is even more outstanding when compared to the scarcity of references to genealogy in primary literature, especially in Nietzsche, but in Foucault as well, when compared to the rest of his oeuvre. Despite the proliferation of books, chapters and articles regarding genealogy, the confusion surrounding this term and its application is far from being overcome and dissipated.

Given the recent 50th anniversary of the seminal article: “Nietzsche, Genealogy, History”, written by Michel Foucault and published in 1971 in the volume Homage à Jean Hyppolite, we would like to re-open the discussion on genealogy, its formulation, and its possible influence in contemporary philosophy. The aim of the workshop is to investigate the philosophical interpretations of genealogy in Nietzsche and Foucault. By doing so, we wish to highlight possible resemblances and differences between its employment in both authors, its significance, and the ends it meets, with a special emphasis on its relation and divergence with history. This way, we hope to enrich the understanding upon this topic and to explore the possibility for a new engagement of the genealogical project as a tool for practical philosophy.

We invite papers that engage with the question of genealogy with reference to the work of Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault. Special attention will be devoted to the relationship that subsists between History and genealogy.

Possible topics are, but not limited to:

• What is the relationship between genealogy and History?
• How genealogy differs from History?
• What is/are the object/s of study of genealogy?
• What is the relation between genealogy and power?
• What are the purposes and ends of genealogy? If there are any at all?
• Can genealogy be understood as a philosophical methodology, a critical project or a source for interpretations?
• What is it the role and the significance of genealogy within the philosophy of Nietzsche and/or Foucault?
• Does genealogy bear the same significance in Nietzsche and Foucault? If not, how does it differ within the two authors?
• Can genealogy, in either Nietzsche or Foucault, have an impact in contemporary philosophy?
• Can genealogy, broadly speaking, provide a different perspective regarding contemporary issues?

Format: The workshop will be held in-person. Each speaker will have 30 minutes to present their papers, followed by additional 15 minutes for questions and discussion. We invite submissions for abstracts which address one or more of the questions exposed. New angles and perspectives on the topic are also welcomed.

Those interested in participating should send a 400-word abstract to maura.ceci.91@gmail.com or rochatedapalma@gmail.com by 31st March 2022, including: 1) the title of the paper, 2)their institutional affiliation, and 3) their preferred email contact address. Please exclude any identifying information from the abstract itself.
Accepted abstracts will be notified not before 15th April 2022. The conference will be in English and attendance is free.

This event is funded by Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the project UIDB/00310/2020.