Former student Seb Sander (Rn 2010-2015), delivered a seminar on the influential philosopher, Michel Foucault. Seb has recently completed a Masters in Continental Philosophy from Warwick University.
Seb explained how the act of classifying and naming things is an exercise of power and that, subsequently, Foucault resisted all attempts to classify him in accordance with pre-existing labels – he instead insisted upon a fluid, irreducible and ever-evolving sense of selfhood.
Similarly, Seb explained how language always contains culturally shaped assumptions and associations which shape thought and reveal power dynamics.
Students were left with a far greater awareness of the depth and subtlety of Foucault’s thinking and an increased appreciation of the complex and various ways power can be exercised within institutions and society.
