PHIL 380:01 Special Topics in Philosophy

Sex, Crime, and Knowledge:
The Work of Michel Foucault

Fall, 2002
Dr. McWhorter

Assignments and Grading

Precis - 10%
Annotations (x3) - 15% total
Group Work Bibliography - 5%
Book Review - 15%
Group Presentation - 5%
October 10 Exam - 20%
Term Paper, broken down as follows:
1. Proposed Topic - 1%
2. Working Bibliography - 4%
3. Refined Thesis and Outline - 5%
4. Polished Term Paper - 20%

September 3: Precis
Each student will submit a precis of pages 36-73 of Foucault's A History of Sexuality, Volume 1. A précis is an abridged, condensed version of the original piece of writing. The goal of a précis is quite literally to 're-present' the essay in a shortened form. Hence, a précis does not evaluate, provide interpretation, nor add any material to the essay. Keep only what is essential. For philosophical articles, such essential features will include, but not necessarily be restricted to:
(i) the thesis of the article,
(ii) any theories or principles relevant to the thesis
(iii) any arguments essential for arriving at the thesis.

Submit your precis in the following style:
Group Projects:
On September 17, each student will be assigned to one of four groups to do a "reception study" of Foucault's work among specified groups of North American scholars. The four groups are as follows: (1) the North American Left, (2) North American Feminist Theorists, (3) North American Continental Philosophers, and (4) Queer Theorists. The purpose of the project is to familiarize students with the history of North American Foucault scholarship and, at the same time, acquaint them with some of the ways in which professional scholarship actually works. Students will have to identify the main scholars and principal texts of the group under study, analyze those texts, and make a presentation to the class to inform others about the ways in which Foucault's works have been received and used. By the end of the four class presentations, every student should have a solid knowledge of the current state of Foucault scholarship in North America. Due dates for components of this project and details for each are as follows:
September 17 Group Meeting: Class will meet in Boatwright Library Computer Classroom. Students will work in their groups to make a preliminary bibliographic list of pertinent scholarship. This preliminary list will serve as the basis for each student's bibliographic work henceforth.
September 24, October 1, October 3 Annotations: As students build their own versions of their Reception Study bibliographies, they will select three articles or book chapters to annotate. The first will come from the list composed in class on September 17. The next two should come from the individual student's own bibliographic list. The three annotations should cover articles published in three different years so as to give a sense of changes in reception of Foucault's work. An annotation consists of a full bibliographic reference at the top of the page and a careful summary of the article's thesis and main arguments. It is not as detailed as a precis, and it may contain some assessment of the value of the article for the project at hand. Annotations should be at least one typed, double-spaced page and no more than three typed, double-spaced pages long. Students must submit as many copies of each annotation as there are members in their group.
October 3 Bibliography: Each student will submit a full bibliography of all material he or she found relevant to the group's work, and enough additional copies for all group members to have one. Students will be graded on the basis of how thorough their individual bibliography is. Bibliographies may be many pages long, but a minimally acceptable bibliography will contain at least twelve entries, including at least four books, at least four journal articles, and at least one reference obtained from an online data base. Each reference should be complete and submitted in standardized format. Additionally after each reference, a student should include 1-2 sentences explaining why that reference is likely to be pertinent to the group project.
October 8 Group Meeting: Students will have read the annotations and bibliographies prepared by the other members of their group and will spend the class period discussing the material to assess its relevance to an overall understanding of the reception of Foucault by the scholars under study.
October 24 Book Review: Each student will submit a five-to-seven-page typed, double-spaced review of one book chosen from the group bibliography. Students in each group should confer prior to selecting a book to review, because each student must read a different book! The review, like the annotations, should set out the book's thesis and main arguments and additionally should contain a critical evaluation of those arguments. Students must submit enough additional copies of the review for all members of their group to have one.
October 31 Group Meeting: Students will have read the book reviews prepared by the other members of their group and will spend the class period discussing the material's relevance to an overall understanding of the reception of Foucault by the scholars under study. Additionally, the group will begin a discussion of how best to present their work to the class as a whole and what material it is most important for other class members to read.
November 14: Each group will submit a proposed reading assignment for the whole class.
November 19 and 21 Group Presentations: On these days the groups will summarize the reception of Foucault's work by the scholars they studied and guide the class through the material they assigned. The North American Left and the Feminist Theorists will present on November 19, and the Queer Theorists and American Continentalists will present on November 21. Each group will have 40 minutes. Every member of the group must play some role in the presentation, although not everyone has to have a speaking role.
 
October 10 Exam:
Specifics of this exam will be posted here at least a week prior to the exam date.
 
Term Paper
November 5 Proposed Topic: Each student must submit a paragraph describing the topic to be researched for the term paper. This statement should be as specific as possible, and it must be typed and double-spaced.
November 21 Working Bibliography: Each student must submit a working bibliography listing all material that might conceivably be relevant to the topic proposed. This bibliography must consist of no less than 50 entries, including at least five books and at least five articles. Direct downloads from web searches are not acceptable. All bibliographic entries must be in standard format.
December 3 Refined Thesis and Outline: Each student must submit a refined thesis statement of no more than two sentences; this statement should clearly articulate the conclusion that the student expects to reach based on the arguments that will be presented in the term paper. Additionally, each student should submit a working outline of the entire term paper. The outline should be as detailed as possible and should include at least three major sections with clear descriptions of the arguments to be made in each one. A refined bibliography should be attached.
December 13 Term Paper: The full term paper, including final bibliography, is to be submitted by 4:30 p.m.
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