February: Wine & Cheese, and Foucault

Join us on Friday February 28th at 6:00 PM for an evening of Wine, Cheese, & Foucault, with board member Matthew Stanley! Come learn more about Foucault's theory of biopower, and especially what psychoanalysis can learn from his critiques. Snacks and drinks are provided, and lively discussions always follow! Don't miss this exciting evening on an important topic.

The French historian and theorist Michel Foucault criticized psychoanalysis as an unwitting tool of the contemporary operation of power, a model of power he called "biopower." This talk will introduce listeners to Foucault's theory about power's transformation from "the right of death" to "the power over life," and the ramifications this shift has for how we understand speech, identity, and freedom today. Foucault's work challenges us to think about how the injunction to speak about and "liberate" our desire can serve as an internal tool of power today.

The Speaker

Matthew Stanley is a board member of the Sacramento Psychoanalytic Society. He has spent 7+ years running customer operations for software startups, and also writes about religion, philosophy, and psychoanalysis at Samsara Diagnostics. He is currently working on a 'critical bureaucratic studies' research project which he is developing into an online course, and Foucault's work plays a pivotal role in that project. Matthew lives in Sacramento with his wife and two children.

The Sacramento Psychoanalytic Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization led and supported entirely by volunteers who are dedicated to the promotion of psychoanalysis within the greater Sacramento region. 

We pursue our mission through organizing educational programs, reading groups, monthly presentations, case conferences, networking events, and hosting speakers of interest for the community of Sacramento – all are welcome to get involved!