Methodological Guidelines and Challenges

Abstract

In the previous chapter we saw that the basic aim of Foucault’s analyses is to interrogate and problematize the exercise of contemporary forms of power. I also accounted for the key concepts employed in this critical endeavour. In this chapter I account for some of the methodological challenges that we face when trying to pursue the said goal and employ the said concepts. How can we undertake analyses of assemblages of knowledge, power and freedom? In particular, I am interested in the challenges raised by using Foucault’s concepts in analyses that directly targets contemporary forms of government, rather than their historical antecedents.