Refracted Input

Clare O’Farrell’s blog on books, TV, films, Michel Foucault, universities etc. etc.

Michel Foucault, Entretiens radiophoniques, 1961-1983, Flammarion / VRIN / INA, 2024 I was delighted to see the publication of Foucault’s radio interviews in October 2024. Most of this material has not been readily available outside of archives until now. The editor, Henri-Paul Fruchaud is well-known for his extensive and meticulous editorial work on posthumous publications …

Continue reading

I’m endlessly interested by the surprising enthusiasms people engage in and the lengths they will go to pursue them. This book on cactus collectors looks like a fascinating read. I’ve added it to my to read list. Jared D. Margulies, The Cactus Hunters. Desire and Extinction in the Illicit Succulent Trade, Minnesota University Press, 2023 …

Continue reading

This post is a reminder to myself to get hold of and read Grafton Tanner’s new book. I don’t know if he refers to Foucault, but I can’t help but think of Foucault’s notions of heterotopia when I read the book description. …the idea of accumulating everything, of establishing a sort of general archive, the …

Continue reading

I’ve been interested for a while in challenging notions of human exceptionalism and the nature/human civilization divide. A definitional paper I’ve come across. Carlos Roberto Bernardes de Souza Júnior, “More-than-human cultural geographies towards co-dwelling on earth.” Mercator – Revista de Geografia da UFC 20, no. (2021):1-10. Redalyc, https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=273665153007 Abstract: Established as a counterpoint to culture-nature …

Continue reading

In recent years, I, like many others, have noticed that criticism and critical intellectuals have been steadily pathologised as unduly negative and hence in need of therapy and psychological intervention. It’s a very effective way of silencing the critique of institutions and social conditions. It remains to be seen how this trend will play out …

Continue reading

This looks like a really interesting work… Federico Italiano (ed.), The Dark Side of Translation – Routledge, 2020 We tend to consider translation as something good, virtuous and bright, but it can also function as an instrument of concealment, silencing and misdirection—as something that darkens and obscures. Propaganda, misinformation, narratives of trauma and imagery of …

Continue reading

No apologies for cross-posting this notice of the new book from Foucault News! Foucault at the Movies Michel Foucault, Patrice Maniglier, Dork Zabunyan. Translated and edited by Clare O’Farrell, Columbia University Press, 2018 Michel Foucault’s work on film, although not extensive, compellingly illustrates the power of bringing his unique vision to bear on the subject …

Continue reading