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Book chapter
OA Policy
French

Catalysts and converts: sparking interest for Foucault among Francophone geographers

Contributors

Fall, Juliet Jane

Published in

Space, knowledge and power: Foucault and geography, p. 107-128

Publisher

Aldershot : Ashgate

Publication date

2007

Abstract

The enthusiasm for Michel Foucault among Anglo geographers is in stark contrast to the surprising lack of interest among their Francophone counterparts. Despite the seminal interview of 1976 that appeared to build a bridge between disciplines, Francophone geographers have rarely read and used his work. While political approaches have traditionally not enjoyed much success in the Francophone world for historical reasons, existing works such as Paul Claval's "Espace et Pouvoir" (1978) or Yves Lacoste's "La géographie ça sert, d'abord, à faire la guerre" (1976) are not inspired by Foucault. Drawing from both literature and interviews, this chapter examines the few sparse attempts within Francophone geography to make explicit use of Foucault. In particular, I suggest that while Claude Raffestin's 1980 work "Pour une géographie du pouvoir" and his subsequent work on territoriality represents an original attempt to adapt Foucault, institutional, conceptual and personal factors have led this work to be largely ignored. Simultaneously, in pointing to its success in "marginal" schools of geography such as Francophone Switzerland and Quebec, removed from the power-struggles of the French Academy, I suggest that these adaptations distinct from those fashionable among Anglo geographers deserve a better audience. Finally, more recent works by the next generation of Francophone geographers further acting as catalysts is briefly explored.

UNIGE affiliation entities

Citation (ISO format)

FALL, Juliet Jane. Catalysts and converts: sparking interest for Foucault among Francophone geographers. In: Space, knowledge and power: Foucault and geography. Aldershot : Ashgate, 2007. p. 107–128.

Main files (1)

Book chapter

Identifiers

  • PID : unige:5218

ISBN

978-0-7546-4654-9
769views
1330downloads

Technical informations

Creation

17/02/2010 11:43:00

First validation

17/02/2010 11:43:00

Update

14/03/2023 15:24:09

Status update

14/03/2023 15:24:09

Last indexation

29/10/2024 13:00:55
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