Politics 391 - History, Morality, Sexuality

In the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche took on his famous project of re-valuing moral values such as good and evil. Foucault, crediting Nietzsche as an influence, later devised his own genealogical inquiry of sexuality. Both thinkers were concerned with the relationship of power and knowledge, and used their own distinct forms of genealogical analysis to to highlight the social contingency of these major concepts. This class will explore the relationship between these two thinkers, and their varied methods of inquiry related to history, truth, and power.

This course is open to Juniors and Seniors. Prereq: 8 credits from Politics or Critical Social Thought