Reassessing Foucault's transhistorical and transdisciplinary legacy

30–31 January 2026 — Pisa, University of Pisa

Michel Foucault’s work remains foundational and constantly relevant. His often-cited (and often misunderstood) concept of biopolitics explored how lives are governed and made to flourish, especially in his lectures at the Collège de France. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his insights gained renewed attention. His lectures on neoliberalism in The Birth of Biopolitics (1978–1979) have become essential reading even for economists. The idea of the Panopticon, developed in Discipline and Punish (1975), now resonates with our everyday awareness of surveillance and disciplinary control. His later work on parrhēsia (fearless speech) remains vital for understanding the role of intellectuals under neoliberalism.

In recent years, scholars have extended Foucault’s methods into new areas: Tacitism in France and Spain (Di Carlo 2024a, Ferraro 2024), Reason of State in early modern Spain (Ferraro 2024), biopolitics and utopian fiction (Lindholm 2024), and even the U.S. Supreme Court (Di Carlo 2024b). These studies show that Foucault’s legacy is both transdisciplinary and transhistorical, and cannot be confined to the Western world.

This conference (and upcoming special issue of Foucault Studies) seeks proposals that explore how minorities, early modernity, legal systems, LGBTQ+ communities, and climate politics engage with the Foucauldian framework.

Please note that the conference will be held in hybrid format. When submitting your
abstract, indicate whether you intend to attend in person or present online.
While the abstract should be submitted in English, we welcome presentations also in French, Italian, Spanish, or German.