Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

Introduction

Interest in the work of the French thinker Michel Foucault continues to develop within the English-speaking world and elsewhere at an exponential rate. There exists an ever-expanding corpus of writing which deals either directly with his work or uses his ideas as the basis for other research. Indeed, some of his concepts, notably his work on power, are now so well recognised as to often appear without attribution. Aside from being widely used at the research level, Foucault's work is also commonly referred to in university courses across the humanities and the social sciences as well as in applied professional disciplines such as education, architecture and social work. There are several research and discussion networks in existence which focus on his work, including the Centre Michel Foucault in Paris, the History of the Present groups in Canada and the UK, the Foucault Circle in the USA and a new Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios Michel Foucault in Mexico. In the virtual sphere, the popularity of the various Foucault websites on the internet attests to the influence of his work: the Michel Foucault: Resources site for example, averages up to 500 hits a day from all over the world. There are also two major email discussion lists which deal with his work and a number of other minor lists.
With so much activity - and ever increasing activity - around Foucault's work, a journal which deals specifically and directly with his work and its impact was more than overdue. Although there are a select number of journals which publish various kinds of research influenced by Foucault's work (as well as other French thinkers),this is the only journal which provides a specifically focused forum for the direct discussion of his work, including criticisms, developments and applications, the publication of new translations and reviews and reports of books, conferences and other activities.

Aims of the journal

The journal aims to provide a forum for discussion of Foucault which goes beyond received orthodoxies, simplifications and uncritical appropriations. In particular, the journal seeks to publish work which utilises not only the more familiar material by Foucault but also the wide range of material made available by the 1994 publication in French of a four volume collection of over 360 of Foucault's shorter writings and the more recent (and ongoing) publication of his lectures. Much of this material is still in the process of being translated into English, and it revolutionises ways of thinking about his work.
Recognising that Foucault's work is being used productively across the globe and across a whole range of disciplines, the journal invites submissions of material that not only deals with his work directly but also material that critiques, updates and augments his claims across very diverse geographical, disciplinary and historical domains. The journal aims to cover the full breadth of these interests, including power, politics, law, history, social and cultural theory, sexuality, race, religion, gender studies, psychoanalysis, philosophy, geography, architecture, education, health studies, management studies, media studies as well as others. The journal also invites translations of shorter pieces from Foucault's oeuvre, and carries book reviews and conference and seminar reports.

An inclusive journal

It is important to emphasise that even if the editors have their own specialised interests, they are seeking to make the journal as inclusive a forum as possible (in the spirit of Foucault's own work) and invite contributions from across a wide range of specialisations, interests and viewpoints. We have attempted to reflect something of this breadth of interest in Foucault's work in our editorial board.
There have been concerns that a journal focused specifically on Foucault's work runs the risk of imprisoning this famously iconoclastic thinker within the strictures of a scholarly orthodoxy with rigid rules of inclusion and exclusion. In the social sciences and other applied fields, one frequently encounters researchers struggling to understand Foucault and to apply his thought while fighting an uphill battle against entrenched prejudice concerning his and other similar ideas in their own very pragmatically oriented fields. These researchers sometimes find it difficult to publish their work, which is too divergent to fit easily within the well-defined boundaries of their own disciplinary and institutional locations. One of the aims of this journal is to provide an alternative outlet for such work. The name 'Foucault' on the cover of this journal is thus an open invitation for scholars to depart from conventional disciplinary strictures while still performing their own rigorous research. Foucault's name serves here as an invitation, not the name on the door of a closed club.

Language of the journal

English.

Indexing

Foucault Studies' articles are indexed in Ebsco's International Humanities Database and in Scopus.

Section Policies

Editorial

Open Submissions

All submissions are subject to rigorous double-blind peer reviews by internationally recognized scholars, on the basis of which authors receive detailed letters from the Editors outlining how best they should revise and resubmit their work.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published twice a year. Suggestions for themes are welcomed by the editors.

Open Access Policy

The journal is available online, and is free to anyone who wishes to use it. This seems appropriate given the global reach of interest in Foucault and the wide internet usage by Foucault scholars and researchers in general. It also means that the journal is free from external constraints. It is important to note that the journal aspires to the same standards as print journals, and sees the internet as a valuable medium for the dissemination of high-quality rigorous work. All articles published in Foucault Studies have gone through peer-review and standard editorial procedures.

Endorsements

”Foucault Studies publishes some of the best, freshest, most innovative work in a busy and fertile field”. - Colin Gordon, Editor and translator of Foucault’s "Power/Knowledge", and Co-Editor of the "Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality" "Foucault Studies is an outstanding resource for scholars but also for general readers as well. The different communities interested in Foucault meet in its 'pages' and their ongoing conversation illumines and fascinates. It is the best single resource for keeping up with the enormous literature ignited by Foucault's works." - James Bernauer, Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, Co-Editor of "The Final Foucault", and author of "Michel Foucault's Force of Flight" "Michel Foucault continues to be one of the most influential, and controversial, thinkers of the twentieth century in history, political thought, literary theory, and many other disciplines. The need for a journal like Foucault Studies, devoted to his thought and legacy, is self-evident. We can all be grateful for the consistently high standards and quality of Foucault Studies, which have made it an indispensable instrument of scholarship and criticism." - David Konstan, John Rowe Workman Distinguished Professor of Classics and the Humanistic Tradition, Professor of Comparative Literature at Brown University, and author of "Friendship in the Classical World" "Foucault Studies provides an excellent forum for current interdisciplinary scholarship on Foucault. As an on-line, open access, peer-reviewed journal, Foucault Studies contributes to the cross-fertilization of work on Foucault across both national and disciplinary borders. It is an invaluable resource for Foucault scholars. - Margaret A. Mclaren, George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Philosophy at Rollins College, and author of "Feminism, Foucault and Embodied Subjectivity"

News

Partnership with the Foucault Circle Foucault Studies has a partnership with the Foucault Circle. Foucault Circle is a well established organization whose annual meetings have grown steadily in attendance and influence for more than a decade serving as an intellectual hub for Foucault scholarship. Information about the Foucault Circle can be found at: http://foucault.siu.edu/. The next annual meeting of the Foucault Circle will take place in Malmö June 5-8, 2014. Please visit the Foucault Circle’s website for the CFP and complementary information.

Editorial Advisory Board

Vikki Bell, London, UK
Didier Bigo, London, UK
Graham Burchell, Italy
Ann Burlein, Hempstead, NY, USA
Barbara Cruikshank, Amherst, USA
Jeremy E. Carette, Canterbury, UK
Patricia Clough, New York City, USA
Michael E. Dillon, Lancaster, UK
Mitchell Dean, Copenhagen, Denmark
Stuart Elden, Durham, UK (Founding Editor)
Chris Falzon, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
James D. Faubion, Houston, USA
Réal Fillion, Sydbury, ON, Canada
Colin Gordon, London, UK
Marieke de Goede, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Frédéric Gros, Paris, France
Béatrice Han-Pile, Colchester, UK
Hidetaka Ishida, Tokyo, Japan
Engin F. Isin, London, UK
David Konstan, Providence, RI, USA
Thomas Lemke, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Nivedita Menon, Delhi, India
Warren Montag, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Majia Holmer Nadesan, Phoenix, USA
Iver B. Neumann, Oslo, Norway
Clare O'Farrell, Brisbane, QL, Australia (Founding Editor)
Paul Patton, Sidney, NSW, Australia
Chris Philo, Glasgow, UK
Martin Saar, Frankfurt, Germany
Jana Sawicki, Williamstown, MA, USA
Dominique Séglard, Paris, France
Mariana Valverde, Toronto, Canada
William Walters, Ottawa, Canada
Nathan Widder, London, UK

visitors since Feb 2009. Hosted by CBS Library

Username
Password
Remember me