COURSE OUTLINE. Society and Biopolitics

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1 COURSE OUTLINE (1) GENERAL SCHOOL Social Sciences ACADEMIC UNIT Sociology LEVEL OF STUDIES Undergraduate COURSE CODE 613 SEMESTER 5 th COURSE TITLE Society and Biopolitics INDEPENDENT TEACHING ACTIVITIES if credits are awarded for separate components of the course, e.g. lectures, laboratory exercises, etc. If the credits are awarded for the whole of the course, give the weekly teaching hours and the total credits WEEKLY TEACHING HOURS CREDITS 3 6 Add rows if necessary. The organisation of teaching and the teaching methods used are described in detail at (d). COURSE TYPE general background, special background, specialised general knowledge, skills development PREREQUISITE COURSES: Compulsory Elective/General Background None LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION and EXAMINATIONS: IS THE COURSE OFFERED TO ERASMUS STUDENTS COURSE WEBSITE (URL) Greek Yes (written essay in English) (2) LEARNING OUTCOMES Learning outcomes The course learning outcomes, specific knowledge, skills and competences of an appropriate level, which the students will acquire with the successful completion of the course are described. Consult Appendix A Description of the level of learning outcomes for each qualifications cycle, according to the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area Descriptors for Levels 6, 7 & 8 of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and Appendix B Guidelines for writing Learning Outcomes By the end of the semester, it is expected that students should be able to: a) comprehend the terms of Biopower and Biopolitics and by extension Necropolitics and Thanatopolitics, b) understand the socio-historical conditions of emergence and prevalence of biopolitics in modern and, especially, in post-modern society, c) know the political economy of life and death and how it deals with the liberal art of government and especially neoliberal governmentality, d) understand the gender, racial, class etc. dimensions of biopolitics, e) distinguish the expressions of surveillance and social control of biopolitics, f) probe deep, through specific empirical case studies, into the multifaceted dimension of biopolitics in later modernity, within the context of a critical sociological approach, g) reflect in the biopolitical power over the population, within which subordination and/or resistance occurs.

2 General Competences Taking into consideration the general competences that the degree-holder must acquire (as these appear in the Diploma Supplement and appear below), at which of the following does the course aim? Search for, analysis and synthesis of data and information, with the use of the necessary technology Adapting to new situations Decision-making Working independently Team work Working in an international environment Working in an interdisciplinary environment Production of new research ideas (3) SYLLABUS Working in an interdisciplinary environment. Production of new research ideas. Criticism and self-criticism. Production of free, creative and inductive thinking. Project planning and management Respect for difference and multiculturalism Respect for the natural environment Showing social, professional and ethical responsibility and sensitivity to gender issues Criticism and self-criticism Production of free, creative and inductive thinking Others. The course introduces students to the theoretical approaches of biopower and biopolitics. In the context of a critical sociological reflection, the focus is placed on the phenomenon of power and especially the regulatory techniques over life and death, producing regimes of truth and mechanisms for surveillance and control over the "social body". Consequently, the course sociologically examines the social, historical and cultural contexts within which bodies subordination and/or resistance occurs. More specifically, starting with Michel Foucault s work in relation to approaches of Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, Judith Butler etc., lectures cover two areas of a critical sociological reflection: A) In the first part, course examines the theoretical approaches of the genealogy of Biopolitics, based on the socio-historical and cultural contexts, while penetrating the convergences and deviations between Foucault thinking and the other philosophical approaches of biopolitics. Lectures outline the transition from the sovereign to the late 18 th -century birth of biopolitics, as well as the transition from the control of leprosy in the Middle Ages to controlling the plague at the end of the 17th century and the early 18th century, and finally, from the emergence of "life sciences" in the 19th century to eugenics, anti-semitism, Nazi concentration camps and in the "final solution" (thanatopolitics) of the "degenerate others" (homosexuals, criminals, mentally ill, destitute, Jews, etc.). More specifically, students will probe deep into the issue of power over life, which separated in two areas: 1) man - as body /anatomo-politics of the human body and 2) man - as - species / the biopolitics of the population. Within this context, the course traces the gender, racial, class, etc. dimensions of biopolitics of otherness, through mechanisms related to demography and social statistics, political economy, scientific and medical knowledge as well as to security management techniques. B) The second part of the lectures focuses on the disciplinary "technologies" of biopolitics and the normalization norms, which continue to apply to individuals, social groups, populations, even the human species, ie the spectral echoes of the above applications in later modernity. Within this framework, course examines the biopolitical tropics through surveillance, control and medicalization - geneticisation of the bodies. Within this context, indicative recent empirical examples are the sanitary controls in "dangerous" population groups or "degenerate others" (such as seropositive prostitutes, refugees or dependents), immigrants - refugees detention centers, the biopolitics of debt - memorandums and the production of the "body of austerity", sexuality and reproduction control, or modern applications of genomics and

3 neurotechnology of genetics. Course Schedule: Week 1: Brief introduction to the content of the course. Presentation of main bibliography. Explanation of teaching methodology and assessment. Introduction to theoretical approaches of Biopolitics and Society. Week 2: Theoretical approaches to Biopower, Biopolitics and Necropolitics. The transition from the sovereign to the birth of biopolitics. Week 3: The Birth of Biopolitics (Part 1). Neoliberal governmentality. Discussion about the dept crisis and the state of exception, the Biopolitics of Memorandums and the body of austerity focusing on neoliberal western societies. Week 4: The Birth of Biopolitics (Part II): The political anatomy of life and death. The emersion of life sciences and the medicalization of social body: Surveillance and social control of the abnormal. Week 5: The Biopolitics of racism: racialism and nationalism in the colonial and postcolonial era. Week 6: The bare life. From Biopolitics to Thanatopolitics: Eugenics, antisemitism, nazi concentration camps and the "final solution" of the "degenerate others". Week 7: Biopolitics of humanitarianism and the asymmetric threats : Refugee migrants management. Giorgio Agamben on biopolitics (the Greek TV interview). Week 8: Feminist approaches, LOATKI policies and gender performances of Biopolitics: The regulation and control of sexuality and reproduction. Week 9: Dangerous population groups, state of exception and public health: The sanitary bombs in quarantine. Ruins: Chronicle of an HIV Witch Hunt documentary. Presentation of the Greek sanitary provision ΓΥ/39 Α. Presentation of the Hellenic Center for the Disease Control & Prevention campaign material about HIV. Week 10: Thanatopolitical Governance. Week 11: View movie and discussion. Week 12: New Genetics and Biopolitics: The genetic code under surveillance. Week 13: Course summary. Reflection in the biopolitical power over the population, within which subordination and/or resistance occurs. TEACHING and LEARNING METHODS - EVALUATION DELIVERY Face-to-face, Distance learning, etc. USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Use of ICT in teaching, laboratory education, communication with students TEACHING METHODS The manner and methods of teaching are described in detail. Lectures, seminars, laboratory practice, fieldwork, study and analysis of bibliography, tutorials, placements, clinical practice, art workshop, interactive teaching, educational visits, project, essay writing, artistic creativity, etc. Face-to-face Use of ICT in teaching and communication with students Activity Lectures Study during semester Study for examination Examination Course total Semester workload 39 hours 75 hours 33 hours 3 hours 150 hours (6 ECTS) The student's study hours for each learning activity are given as well as the hours of non-

4 directed study according to the principles of the ECTS STUDENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Description of the evaluation procedure Language of evaluation, methods of evaluation, summative or conclusive, multiple choice questionnaires, short-answer questions, openended questions, problem solving, written work, essay/report, oral examination, public presentation, laboratory work, clinical examination of patient, art interpretation, other Specifically-defined evaluation criteria are given, and if and where they are accessible to students. Language of evaluation: Greek and English. Methods of evaluation: Written exams at the end of the semester with short-answer and open-ended questions. Evaluation criteria: Understanding the content of the course. (4) ATTACHED BIBLIOGRAPHY - Suggested bibliography: a)basic Textbooks Foucault, M Η γέννηση της βιοπολιτικής. Παραδόσεις στο Kολλέγιο της Γαλλίας ( ). Αθήνα: Πλέθρον (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: FOU). Κουρούτζας, Χ Εγκληματολογία της γενετικής. Αθήνα: Πεδίο (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: 364 KOY). Αθανασίου, Α Ζωή στο όριο. Δοκίµια για το σώµα, το φύλο και τη βιοπολιτική. Αθήνα: Εκκρεµές (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: ΑΘΑ). b) Additional References Agamben, G Homo Sacer: Κυρίαρχη Εξουσία και Γυµνή Ζωή. Αθήνα: Scripta (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: AGA). Αθανασίου, Α. (επιμ.) Βιοκοινωνικότητες. Θεωρήσεις στην ανθρωπολογία της υγείας. Αθήνα: Νήσος (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: ΒΙΟ). Αθανασίου, Α Η κρίση ως «κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης». Αθήνα: Σαββάλας. Ajana, B Governing through Biometrics. The Biopolitics of Identity. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Macmillan. Butler, J H ψυχική ζωή της εξουσίας. Θεωρίες καθυπόταξης. Αθήνα: Πλέθρον, κεφ. 3. Campbell, T.& Sitze, A. (eds.) Biopolitics A Reader. Durham: Duke University Press. Clough, P., T. & Willse, C. (eds.) Beyond Biopolitics: Essays on the Governance of Life and Death. Durham, London: Duke University Press. da Costa, B. & Philip, K. (eds.) Tactical Biopolitics: Art, Activism and Technoscience. Cambridge: MIT Press. Foucault, M Για την υπεράσπιση της κοινωνίας. Αθήνα: Ψυχογιός, σσ (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: 194

5 FOU). Foucault, M Security, Territory, Population. Lectures at the College de France. UK: Palgrave Macmillan (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: FOU). Foucault, M Ιστορία της σεξουαλικότητας. Η βούληση για γνώση. Αθήνα: Πλέθρον, σσ (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: FOU). Lemke, T Biopolitics: An Advanced Introduction. NY, London: New York University Press. Promitzer, C., Trubeta, S. & Turda, M. (eds.) Health hygiene and eugenics in Southeastern Europe to Budapest, New York: Central European University Press, pp (Βιβλιοθήκη Παν. Αιγαίου, Παράρτημα Μυτιλήνης, Ταξιθετικός αριθμός: HEA). Prozorov, S. & Rentea, S. (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Biopolitics. London, New York: Routledge. - Related academic journals: American Journal of Sociology Biosocieties Critical Horizons Critical Public Health Death Studies European Journal of Sociology Foucault Studies Holocaust and Genocide Studies New Genetics and Society Philosophy and Social Criticism Sociology of Health and Illness