QUILTING POINTS:

In our next meeting, we will discuss Achille Mbembe's "Necropolitics," a critique of Foucauldian sovereignty. You can download the PDF  here . Dr. Sam Durrant (Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Literature) will introduce our discussion. We will meet in the Leeds Humanities Research Institute from 15:30-17:30. As usual, all are welcome. Ryan Topper and Ben Chwistek Directors, Quilting Points 2014/2015

This Wednesday, we will discuss Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's "Biopolitical Production," a chapter from Empire .  Click here  to download the PDF. We hope to interrogate the ways Hardt and Negri interpret and build upon Foucault's work, so feel free to bring relevant Foucault texts to the discussion. Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. Wikimedia Commons Quilting Points co-directors, Ryan Topper and Benjamin Chwistek, will introduce the meeting, which will take place from 15:30-17:30 in the Leeds Humanities Research Institute.

February 11th: 'The Malthus Effect: Population and the Liberal Government of Life' In our second meeting of this semester we will be reading Foucault's concepts of biopolitics and biopower through the lens of Mitchell Dean's essay on Malthus and the Liberal Government of Life. The text will be introduced by David Wingate, PhD Student in the School of Earth and Environment. For anyone who did not make our last session, it is recommended (though not required) that you read Foucault's 'Right of Death and Power over Life'. A link to the text can be found in our previous blog post. In addition to the Foucault text, we will be reading Mitchell Dean's essay, which is available here:  ' The Malthus Effect: Population and the Liberal Government of Life' This semester we will be meeting at the slightly later time of 15:30, and will be finishing at 17:30. As before, we will be meeting in the LHRI Seminar Room. As always, all are welcom...

January 28th: 'Right of Death and Power over Life' The first meeting of 2015 will be on Foucault's 'Right of Death and Power over Life'. This will be the first meeting focusing on the theme of biopower and subjectivity, which we will be building on throughout the semester.  Introducing the text will be Ed Powell, PhD student in the School of English and Ben Chwistek, PhD student in the School of Classics and co-director of Quilting Points. A link to the text can be found here:   'Right of Death and Power over Life' This semester we will be meeting at the slightly later time of 15:30, and will be finishing at 17:30. As before, we will be meeting in the LHRI Seminar Room. Benjamin Chwistek and Ryan Topper Directors, Quilting Points 2014/2015

In our next meeting we will be discussing two short texts: 'Return to History', which will be introduced by Dr Denis Flannery (Senior Lecturer in American Literature); and 'Different Spaces', which will be introduced by Professor Jane Taylor (Wole Soyinka Chair of Drama and Theatre Studies). The link to the readings can be found here: 'Different Spaces' ;   'Return to History' . As per usual, we will meet in the Leeds Humanities Research Institute from 15:00-17:00. After this we will head to a local pub. Ben Chwistek and Ryan Topper Directors, Quilting Points 2014/2015

After one meeting, this year looks like an exciting time to be a part of Quilting Points. Thanks to all who share our goal of promoting theoretical inquiry across academic disciplines. Our second meeting is approaching. On Wednesday, October 22nd, we will discuss "Two Lectures" from  Power/Knowledge . The lectures are found in chapter five of the link provided. For a separate PDF of "Two Lectures," click here . Dr. Thomas Campbell (Lecturer in Social Theory) will be introducing our discussion. As always, we will meet in the Leeds Humanities Research Institute from 15:00-17:00, followed by a trip to a local pub. 29-31 Clarendon Place, Leeds Humanities Research Institute

Michel Foucault once wore a cowboy hat. For this reason, we will spend the next year discussing his work. Michel Foucault at UC Berkeley, October 1983. Photograph by Paul Rainbow