ANTH 2110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Michel Foucault, Radical Change, Individualism
Document Summary
Michel foucault- born 1926 in france and died in 1948. Best known for his writing on power, knowledge and discourse. He asked the question: what governs discourse? and the way that they govern each other. He looked at the limits of discourse and looked at the objective truth. Discourses are always linked to power and knowledge together. Discourses are types of communication that can take various forms, but they are basically messages that are communicated and circulated that represent primary aspects of knowledge but are embedded with power. Truman show is an example of thinking that way media discourses provide knowledge of the world. The power of discourses follows from our casual acceptance of the reality of which we are presented. Truth, morality and meaning is created through discourses including media discourses. Focuses on the relation between power and resistance. The creation of knowledge is never neutral and always objective. Culture is always a site of contested meaning.
