Foucault, Genealogy, Emergence: Re-Examining The Extra-Discursive

Nick Hardy, Foucault, Genealogy, Emergence: Re-Examining The Extra-Discursive, pp. 68-91 This paper offers an alternative theorization of a well known account of restructured social relations-Foucault's analysis of the production of "delinquency" in Discipline and Punish. The paper argues that in his later "genealogical" accounts like Discipline and Punish, Foucault does not maintain the same analytical and theoretical depth with regard to the "extra-discursive" that can be found in his earlier "archaeological" works. Furthermore, a key element of his genealogies was the concept of "emergence", which Foucault used to denote the moment of a new "domination". This paper argues that by inadequately theorizing the extra-discursive, Foucault cannot make a sufficiently strong enough argument with regard the formation and effect of "emergent" entities-indeed, that Foucaultian theory itself should broaden its conception of "emergence" to include other properties and entities, not only those that are part of "dominations". By adapting critical realism to re-theorize the extra-discursive and emergence, the argument is made that Foucault's account can be greatly strengthened. The paper concludes by critically re-examining the role of extra-discursive in producing the emergence of "delinquency" and thereby offering a richer understanding of complex social relations.