Structure of the Essay
At this stage of your learning process, it is a good idea to adopt a formal structure in your essay. For this assignment, make sure you articulate your discussion in the following way: a short Introduction, followed by two or three Sections, a Conclusion, and a proper Bibliography.
Introduction
After a brief introduction in which I expect you to introduce the relevant theme, you will need to state your argument (e.g., ‘given the problem or issue implicit in the title, I contend that …’), and briefly offer the reader with some guidance on what you will be doing in the essay (e.g., ‘in order to demonstrate my argument, I will first look at… Then I will … Finally, I conclude that…).
Argumentation (two or three sections)
After the Introduction, the essay sections will allow you to develop your argument. A critical stance is here essential for enhancing the quality of your essay. Do your best to be analytical and not just descriptive. You might want to articulate your answer (that is, your main argument) through a number of claims (or sub-arguments). I recommend posing one claim for each section. For instance, if your title is about the role of ethnicity in the politics of the region and your argument is that ethnicity hinders national loyalty, you will need to divide your argument in sub-arguments which will all contribute to defend and develop your hypothesis (e.g, Section 1 will first look at how ethnicity is constructed and the type of loyalty it enables…); Section 2 will further develop your argument by looking at national loyalty and showing how it differs from ethnic belonging).
Remember: a good essay is one that engages critically and analytically with the essay title. In this direction, make sure you are able to identify pros and cons for each claim in your sections. Do not just discuss your claims, but account for the cons: imagine the objections that some authors (and readers!) might have in relation to specific claims, and try to list and account for those possible objections in your discussion (this is a good way to highlight tensions among the authors and engage critically with the literature).
AM- 1
Conclusion
You will finally reprise your main points and show the force of your argument. If you have suggestions or ideas for future works which could follow from your essay, this is a good place where to put them.
Bibliography
This is where you list all the academic articles, books, websites you have used in your essay. Whether you have used in-text referencing or endnotes, your quotes and referenced material will all need to be listed here. Do not include items that you have not expressly used and referenced in your essay.
REFERENCING
A wide range of sources must be used (at least 10 references), and referencing must be complete and accurate. In answering your question, make sure you engage with the required reading connected to title and the related weekly topic. All items in the relevant required reading list must be discussed, referenced and included in your bibliography at the end of the essay. Besides the required reading for your chosen topic, suggested reading and further reading should also be included.
The more you engage with the reading and the relevant literature – for instance managing to make connections with other weekly topics and readings examined in the course, or finding your own material in the library and the web – the better the result. You will need to demonstrate that you have engaged with the material in the course at general, also showing an ability and willingness to develop independent research by pursuing extra reading. In this direction, it essential that you reflect upon and include thoughts and discussions based on the lectures (and the slides!) and the seminars. Marking will adopt a holistic criterion, accounting for your ability to engage with the overall material in the course. Referencing is therefore an essential part of the assessment, and needs to be as wide and complete as possible in its relation to the course material.
When engaging with extra reading, make sure you use sources that have academic value (academic journals and books). Wikipedia should not be used. Unlike academic journals, newspapers might be not immediately relevant for academic debates. They however offer empirical data that can productively be used when backing a certain claim. Websites, blogs and other informal sites can offer primary data (e.g. opinions by religious adherents if you are addressing the role of religion and politics). Be aware however that they might not stand academic scrutiny (so, if you want to back a certain
Essential Reading
Foucault, Michel, The Will to Knowledge: The History of Sexuality v.1, (London, Penguin Books, 1998): Part V ‘ Right of Death and Power of Life’, pp. 135-159.
Taylor, Dianna (ed), Michel Foucault: Key Concepts (London: Routledge, 2011): Ch. 3 ‘Biopower’, pp. 41-54.
Recommended Reading
Foucault, Michel, ‘Truth and Power’, in Colin Gordon, (ed.), Power/Knowledge (New York: Pantheon Books, 1980): pp. 109-133.
Foucault, Michel, Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Prison (London: Penguin, 1991): Pt Three: 1. ‘Docile Bodies’ pp 135-169; 3. ‘Panopticism’ pp 195-228; ‘ Part Four: ‘The Carceral’ pp 293-308 (also available at: https://zulfahmed.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/disciplineandpunish.pdf
Foucault, Michel, ‘The Subject and Power’, Critical Inquiry, 8.4 (1982), pp. 777-795.
McHoul, A. W., and Wendy Grace, A Foucault Primer: Discourse, Power, and the Subject (London: Routledge, 1995): Ch. 2 ‘Discourse’, pp. 26-56; Ch.3 ‘Power’, pp. 57-90; Ch. 4 ‘The Subject’ pp. 91-125.
Foucault, Michel, ‘Politics and Ethics: An Interview’, In Paul Rabinow (ed), The Foucault Reader (New York: Pantheon, 1984), pp. 373-80.
Oksala, Johanna, ‘From Biopower to Governmentality’, in Falzon, Christopher, Timothy O’Leary and Jana Sawicki (eds), A Companion to Foucault (Oxford: Blackwell, 2013), pp. 320-336.
Pickett, Brent L. ‘Foucault and the Politics of Resistance’, Polity, 28.4 (1996), pp. 445-66.
Lazzarato, M. (2002) ‘From Biopower to Biopolitics’, Pli: Warwick Journal of Philosophy, 13, pp. 99-113.
Foucault, Michel, ‘Governmentality’, in Burchell, Gordon and Miller, eds., The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991), pp.87-104.
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