Annotated Bibliography

Abrams, M. H. (1999). A glossary of literary terms (7th ed.). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

• This book provides a useful definition and discussion of discourse.

Ashenden, Samantha., & Owen, D. (1999). Foucault contra Habermas: Recasting the dialogue between genealogy and critical theory. SAGE.

• This book attempts to go through the debates between Foucault and Habermas and shift the focus so as to arrive at a new understanding of both philosophers’ work on power, genealogy, and ethics.

Bergo, B. (2019). Emmanuel Levinas. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2019). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2019/entries/levinas/

• This is an encyclopedia entry on Levinas, his biography, and his major ideas. It provides key bibliography for later study.

Bové, P. (1995). Discourse. In Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin (Ed.), Critical terms for literary study (2nd ed., pp. 50–65). University of Chicago Press.

• This text traces the development of “discourse” from linguistics as an analytical tool to study power within literary criticism.

Childers, J., & Hentzi, G. (Eds.). (1995). Humanism. The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. Literature Online. https://www.proquest.com/encyclopedias-reference-works/humanism/docview/2137913688/se-2?accountid=11091

• This is an encyclopedia entry that discusses humanism, its definition and historical provenance. It also explains how humanism figures in contemporary intellectual movements, such as structuralism and poststructuralism.

Coopman, C. (2017, March 15). Why Foucault’s work on power is more important than ever [Magazine]. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/why-foucaults-work-on-power-is-more-important-than-ever

• This essay traces not only some of Foucault’s key ideas on knowledge and power but also on why it is relevant for intellectual study now as well as contemporary society.

Ferdinand de Saussure. (2000). The object of study. In David Lodge with Nigel Wood (Ed.), Modern criticism and theory: A reader (2nd ed., pp. 2–9). Longman.

• In this classic article, de Saussure demonstrates how sign and referent in language are arbitrary. That is, words are not somehow related to what they refer to.

Fish, S. (1995). Rhetoric. In Frank. Lentricchia & T. McLaughlin (Eds.), Critical terms for literary study (2nd ed., pp. 203–222). University of Chicago Press.

• This text is broad overview of “rhetoric” from Plato to the present, which nevertheless captures the more modern contribution to rhetoric, from speech act theory to its role in politics and democracy.

Foucault, M. (1972). The discourse on language. In A. M. Sheridan Smith (Trans.), The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language (pp. 215–237). Pantheon.

• In this text, Foucault clarifies some of his ideas of discourse in language. These ideas connect with his The Archeology of Knowledge and Discipline and Punish.

Fraser, N. (1985). Michel Foucault: A “Young Conservative”? Ethics, 96(1), 165–184. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/stable/2381333

• Fraser performs a detailed analysis of Habermas’ critique of Foucault and notes where this critique is successful and where it fails. The discussion helps to put the intellectual stakes in perspective.

Habermas, Jürgen. (1989). Jürgen Habermas on society and politics: A reader (Steven. Seidman, Ed.). Beacon Press.

• This is a reader that puts together some of Habermas’ most prominent contributions to philosophy, sociology, and communication.

Harpham, G. (1995). Ethics. In Frank. Lentricchia & T. McLaughlin (Eds.), Critical terms for literary study (2nd ed., pp. 387–405). University of Chicago Press.

• Harpham provides a useful discussion of ethics and moral theory especially in relationship to literature.

Kelly, M. (2020, June 8). Inside Nextdoor’s “Karen problem.” The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/21283993/nextdoor-app-racism-community-moderation-guidance-protests

• This article details a series of examples of racism on the platform Nextdoor as well as its attempts to reign in that rhetoric.

Leskes, A. (2013, Fall). A Plea for Civil Discourse: Needed, the Academy’s Leadership. Liberal Education, 99(4). https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/plea-civil-discourse-needed-academys-leadership

• This article focuses on civil discourse in the academy, especially in the context of the liberal arts. It also points how discourse and discourses are relevant to not only education but also a deeper analysis of the world.

McCarthy, T. (2006). Habermas, Jürgen (1929–). In D. M. Borchert (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 199–201). Macmillan Reference USA; Gale eBooks. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3446800783/GVRL?sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=895aebda

• This is an encyclopedia entry on Habermas, his biography, and his major ideas. It provides key bibliography for later study.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Discourse. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discourse

• This dictionary entry provides the definition for the most common usages of “discourse.”

Pryor, B. (2006). Foucault, Michel (1926–1984). In D. M. Borchert (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 698–702). Macmillan Reference USA; Gale eBooks. https://link-gale-com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/apps/doc/CX3446800684/GVRL?u=wash43584&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=54660c31

• This is an encyclopedia entry on Foucault, his biography, and his major ideas. It provides key bibliography for later study.

Rabinow, P. (2010). Introduction. In Paul Rabinow (Ed.), The Foucault Reader (pp. 3–29). Vintage Books.

• This introductory essay puts into context Foucault’s thoughts, as challenging as that is, and tries to add nuance to received notions about Foucault’s ideas.

Rousseau, J.-J. (2002). The social contract ; and, The first and second discourses (S. Dunn & G. May, Eds.). Yale University Press.

• This is a seminal work of pre-Enlightenment political theory that lays the foundation for our modern notions of democracy. It is singular in that it presents a view of human nature gathered from idyllic notions of pre-conquest Native American life.

Taylor, D. (2014). Michel Foucault: Key Concepts. Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/georgetown/detail.action?docID=1886870

• In this book, Taylor tries to unpack the concepts of power, subjectification, and discipline (among others) that Foucault contributed to philosophy.

withDefiance. (2013, March 13). Debate Noam Chomsky & Michel Foucault—On human nature [Subtitled]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wfNl2L0Gf8

• This is the complete video of the debate between Noam Chomsky and Foucault which centers around “human nature.”