This dissertation seeks a concept of freedom that is compatible with Michel Foucault’s descriptions of power and its role in the constitution of the subject. Discovering the concept of freedom that properly opposes the Foucauldian concept of domination reveals the possibilities and limitations of the usefulness of Foucault’s account of power for social criticism. The first step in this endeavor is therefore to distinguish between Foucault's own use of the terms 'power' and 'domination' – the conflation of which is a source of criticism of his social theory. With this distinction in hand, I argue that Foucault’s genealogical period with its diagnosis of subjection is wholly compatible with, and indeed inseparable from, his ethical period with its emphasis on self-transformation. Read as two sides of a coin, these periods of Foucault’s work establish the terms in which we must understand the ethico-political struggle in which we constantly find ourselves as subjects of self-transformation embedded in identity-constituting relations of power. I then explore Foucault’s criticism of the modern concept of autonomy, which he believes to be inherited from the Enlightenment and, more specifically, Kant. In spite of these criticisms, Foucault does not dispense with the concept of freedom as autonomy altogether, but instead must embrace a concept of social freedom, similar to that which is found in contemporary recognition theory. Therefore, we should characterize Foucault’s normative stance as that of a coupling of a general concept of social freedom with what I call a "metaethico-political openness principle" committing us to acts of resistance that would attempt to push the boundaries of recognition so that we may affirm previously unimagined ways of life.

by Wing Chi Ki. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-182). / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.i v / Table of Contents --- p.v / Abbreviations used for Foucault's Works --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction: Power and Resistance in Foucault --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- 1984-The Axis of Power --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Brave New World--The Axis of Sexuality --- p.70 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Handmaid's Tale-The Axis of Knowledge --- p.117 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Conclusion: Resistant Topos´ؤFrom Dystopia to Heterotopia --- p.167 / Works Cited --- p.177 / Bibliography --- p.182

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Political Science, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Through a layered account format combining theory, performative autoethnographic vignettes, and dialogical exchanges, the author explores the performances of Supermotherhood as they materialize within her life and potentially within the lives of, and through interactions with, other mothers inside and outside of her immediate peer group. The author analyses the ways the pervasive ideology of perfect mothering manifests itself within motherhood culture, and how it ultimately impacts maternal agency, self worth, and by extension, the family unit, and the culture of motherhood-mothering in general. Guided by a feminist poststructuralist approach, the author argues that the Supermom, or rather, Super Mom meta-identity offers all subjective labels and ideologies of mothering a place to become and celebrate possibility, individuality, transition, and maternal empowerment. Keywords: mothering; feminism; performative identity; autoethnography; poststructuralist feminism; maternal empowerment; layered account

This thesis is an ethnographic account of how people in a particular situation of bureaucratic domination developed tactics and adopted discourses to present themselves as active agents capable of mobilizing resources, individually and at a collective level. Specifically, it involves a description and analysis of power dynamics, experienced efficacy, and associated processes of defining self and others in the context of a newly forming injured workers support group in their relations with a Workers' Compensation Board. Appropriate to the study of an injured workers group, the thesis draws upon a body of literature which focuses on the everyday practices of people in concrete social contexts. James C. Scott's work on domination and resistance privides a primary framework for the study, elaborated by Michel De Certeau's concepts of 'strategy' and 'tactic' as well as Foucault's notion of 'carceral' networks. Among the main findings was the recognition of the extent to which individual group members engaged in creative, and often effective tactical acts of resistance against the WCB and yet also against their own formal association. Moreover, as the group appropriated elements of bureaucratic and trade union discourses it shifted toward also engaging in strategic social action. The thesis concludes with practical recommendations concerning the ways such associations are formed and operate, as well as policy options for workers' compensation boards in general. / ix, 215 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [282]-290).

Thesis (Ph.D.)-- University of Finland, 2004. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-- University of Finland, 2004. Includes bibliographical references (p. 353-373) and index. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-164). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Anthropology, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-211).