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Originally Posted by alteredcourse
Glice + notyourfiend, you're amazing! I'll probably pick up Zizek and Foucault first and go from there. If you were excited about anything else, by all means, I'm all eyes. My understanding of Nietzsche is admittedly pretty weak, but from what I gather we were left with a pretty bleak reality, and I am curious to read up on where others have taken that.
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No problem.
I honestly need to pick up more Nietzeche. I've only read the entirety The Birth of Tragedy, but I don't think that really gives an adequate representation. His work, however, was partially summarized to me by various professors.
One of Foucault's major influences was Nietzeche, who said that subjects develop due to power relations in society. Foucault talks about histories of concepts, indicating that different values emerge out of histories/truths are historically contingent etc. Power, Foucault said, is operative - every subject is formed as a result f power relations. Institutions such as the church, capitalism, and psychoanalysis all have investments in formulating the subject. Power to Foucault is not something which is oppressive with "the man" keeping the subjects down - rather, power can be used to raise certains ideas which people have investments in. I.e. in the case of, say, sexuality: institutions such as the church and capitalism all have investments in forming subject's relationship to sexuality. This is what is discussed in The History of Sexuality.
I hope you find that somewhat helpful. I've got a little bit too aquainted w Foucault during my time as a women's studies major at a liberal arts college.