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Redefining the subject?: The influence of Foucault on the sociology of health and illness
Alan R Petersen
Sociology Program, School of Social Sciences, Murdoch University, VIC
Abstract
There is no doubt as to the enormous contemporary interest in Michel Foucault within sociology, and within social science as a whole. There is now a veritable 'Foucault industry' with many books and articles devoted to exploring the broader implications of his ideas for social and political theory in general (see, e.g. Boyne 1990; Dreyfus & Rabinow 1982) and for studies of governmentality (Burchell, Gordon & Miller 1991; Rose 1989), of body regulation (Armstrong 1983) and of gender (McNay 1992; Sawicki 1991) in particular. Foucault has been credited by many intellectuals as having made a major contribution to a revolution in thinking about the development of history; about the constitution of human subjectivity; and about processes of government and of bodily regulation and control. However, given the relative recency of this interest, which really only spans the last decade, and some trenchant criticisms by some feminists and others of Foucault's epistemology and politics, it is difficult to know what the longer term impact of his work will be.
For the sociology of health and illness at least, it is clear is that Foucault's work must be taken seriously if for no other reason that health and medicine were major themes in his work and used to illustrate his broader theories about the relationships between knowledge and power (see Foucault 1975, 1980, 1991a). There has been increasing debate about the theoretical significance of Foucault's work within the international literature on the sociology of health and illness. And the concepts developed by Foucault are being increasingly applied in empirical studies in many areas. It is my belief that Australian sociologists interested in health, illness and healing can benefit greatly from this theoretical and empirical work. But both Foucault's work, and that of his followers, needs a careful and critical reading. This paper outlines major themes in Foucault's work, and examines how his ideas have been, and could be, applied by sociologists working in the health area.
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