Papers by David Hancock
Journal for Cultural Research, 2015
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 2018
This is an accepted manuscript of an article published in Widening Participation and Lifelong Lea... more This is an accepted manuscript of an article published in Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning.
Contemporary Political Theory, 2017
Daniel Zamora and Michael C. Behrent's edited volume Foucault and Neoliberalism is concerned with... more Daniel Zamora and Michael C. Behrent's edited volume Foucault and Neoliberalism is concerned with the intellectual ambiguity of the later Foucault in relation to what was then nascent neo-liberalism. At its core is the uneasiness that a critic of neo-liberalism should feel when encountering Foucault's presentation of neo-liberalism. The primary focus is therefore the intellectual backdrop of the Collège de France lectures, published in English as Security, Territory, Population and The Birth of Biopolitics, as well as various other interjections of this period and the second and third volumes of The History of Sexuality. The question is an important one because it tackles head-on Foucault's presentation of neo-liberalism, of which he is ambivalent at best. The essays in this collection are particularly pertinent for academic circles in which, as Zamora notes in his introduction, '[Foucault] has acquired almost saint-like status' that is also part of the 'critical Left' (p. 2). This is not simply an attempt to paint Foucault as a neo-liberal or to postulate the question of whether he was for or against neo-liberalism, but rather to understand the intellectual context of Foucault's commentary on neo-liberalism. This is something that the editors contend is often lacking, particularly in American scholarship (p. 26). In this sense, the essays in this volume constitute a rich contribution to recent intellectual history and political theory that will be an important reference for both Foucault scholars and those interested in the historical development of neo-liberal thought. The volume is book-ended with an introduction and conclusion, written by the editors, that frame the essays within. This gives the volume a narrative that so many edited volumes lack. Also included is a short essay by Foucault that originally appeared in Le Nouvelle Observateur in 1977, in which he glowingly reviews Glucksmann's (1980) The Master Thinkers. His endorsement of Glucksmann's attack on the politics of the Left, as a system of domination, in turn seems to open Foucault up to thinking about contemporary politics in a different way. This is the lens through which we are asked to view Foucault's engagement with neo-liberalism. This is an important point because it puts Foucault's ambivalence towards neoliberalism into a context in which it is a proxy for a critique of Leftist politics. It was therefore a strategic intervention into the politics of the late 1970s through which
In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was ... more In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was an era of crisis and an accumulated past, the present epoch will perhaps be one of space. In his essay Foucault coined the term “heterotopias” to signify other spaces that effectively enact utopic spaces in which, “the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted.” For Foucault, heterotopic spaces were first spaces of crisis, or transformative spaces, however in the modern epoch heterotopias of crisis have given way to heterotopias of deviation and spaces of discipline such as psychiatric hospitals or prisons. Rather than disappearing, as Foucault contends, this brief essay can be read as a call to think through how spaces of crisis and critique are in fact still functioning to open up disruptive, subversive or minoritarian fields within already existing discourses, be they philosophical, political, cultural or aesthetic. This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 2018
There is no consensus about the meaning of the phrase 'widening participation'. A clearly underst... more There is no consensus about the meaning of the phrase 'widening participation'. A clearly understood and resonant definition of widening participation, commonly held by work-based and academic practitioners, may be fundamental to coherent and impactful access initiatives across sectors. Focusing on the healthcare sector, using qualitative interview data gathered from those involved with widening participation initiatives in education and in the healthcare workplace, and focus groups with current and prospective students, this research explores understanding in practice and resulting actions.
Findings strongly suggest that aspirants to higher education (including healthcare workers) do not recognise 'widening participation' as a phrase, potentially limiting the impact of interventions as the target groups may assume it does not apply to them. Conversely, advocates for this group (practitioners in both higher education and healthcare) offer a range of definitions, however the breadth of definitions allows for different priorities. There is some evidence that this results in higher education and healthcare employers targeting different groups, with universities looking to enrol students from non-traditional backgrounds but often with traditional qualifications, and employers wishing to concentrate most of their effort on supporting existing staff into higher education.
In contrast to definitions in policy documents which focus on deficits, both advocates and aspirants spoke about the positive qualities brought by students typically targeted by widening participation initiatives. Along with discussing the lack of concept recognition in the workplace, this paper argues for the development and widespread adoption of a definition enshrining the creation of equal access as a positive step, rather than a deficit remediation.
The Journal of Adult Protection
Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern yo... more Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.
The spirit of capitalism shifted throughout the twentieth century, Boltanski and Chiapello place ... more The spirit of capitalism shifted throughout the twentieth century, Boltanski and Chiapello place it sometime in the period between the 1960s and 1990s (2005), for Bell it had happened by the mid-1970s and its contradictions were already apparent (1998). David Harvey is more specific and cites 1979 as the dawn of the new era (2005). This paper seeks to build on this scholarship of the changing spirit of capitalism and read it through the development of the heroic figure of the American imagination, through the representation of the capitalist hero. Its aim is to situate the figure of the capitalist hero in the post-crash era and ultimately to understand the seductive power of the new capitalism that enables it to thrive. My thesis is that the seductive power of the new capitalism can be understood as an oscillation between revulsion and awe, we are both morally repulsed by the venality of capitalism yet also captivated by it. Revulsion and awe are at the core of the libidinality of the new capitalism and can be seen through the representation of the heroic object of the capitalist imagination. =
This paper interrogates Peter Sloterdijk's reading of the key Straussian concept of thymos. Thymo... more This paper interrogates Peter Sloterdijk's reading of the key Straussian concept of thymos. Thymos, translated as spiritedness by Strauss and also as anger and taken as the German zorn by Sloterdijk (in English translations as rage), is presented as the basis of the political and a key precept of social change. Sloterdijk attempts to decouple Strauss from American neoconservatism, I argue that this is not as simple as Sloterdijk assumes. Any consideration of thymos must, I argue, take into account its meaning across the political spectrum. After briefly recalling the development of neoconservatism in Germany in the early twentieth century and then later in America I and compare this development with the recent rise in interest in Leo Strauss in China. I stress the continuity of Strauss's understanding of the Schmittian concept of 'the political' in his later reading of thymos and emphasise the importance of myth in connecting the two. I then concentrate on the notion of thymos as presented by Strauss and his student Allan Bloom in their reading Plato's Republic; this reading is supplemented by Strauss's understanding of the concept of eros as it appears in his reading of Plato's Symposium. For Strauss, eros and thymos have to be read together because the political revolves around their interrelation. Thymos is generated through unfulfilled eros and the love of one's own, whilst fully developed eros, which Strauss conceives philosophy as, is absent of thymos and disregards the political. In his commentary Bloom makes money-making the political equivalent of philosophy and the final part of this paper develops this thought in light of the rise of neoliberalism. I conclude by stressing the value of an understanding of the use and control of thymos for the political but note the inherent instability of the concept. Sloterdijk's adoption of the concept and his reading of Strauss, whilst not forcing him into the same authoritarianism as the neoconservatives, does highlight the challenge involved in building an alternative political paradigm to neoconservatism.
This paper is concerned with the moral economy of neoliberalism. The goal is to show the developm... more This paper is concerned with the moral economy of neoliberalism. The goal is to show the development of this moral economy through the discourse of neoconservatism. The research pays particular attention to the incorporation of aspects of bohemia in the construction of this moral economy. The paper charts the development of the neoconservative moral critique of political modernity in the second half of the twentieth century by drawing on the leading neoconservative figures, Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol. The first part of this research makes clear the homology between the neoconservative critique of bohemia and excessive capitalism, where both are accused of nihilism as part of the moral abyss of liberal modernity. The second part of this research shows how, through the work of George Gilder, neoconservatives re-imagined a moral economy for capitalism that overcame the apparent nihilism whilst retaining the unrestrained nature of accumulation. Through a celebration of the heroic entrepreneur, neoliberalism’s moral economy is based upon a celebration of risk, an embrace of chance and an overturning of bourgeois morality. Neoliberalism incorporates the bohemian critique of bourgeois capitalism into a critique of the social democratic welfare state which, by prioritising safety over pleasure and excess, is deemed to be both incapable of offering spiritual satisfaction as well as being ill suited to a post-Fordist economy. The flexible nature of bohemia that rebelled against organised strictures of bourgeois morality and Fordist organisation is welcomed by the neoliberal turn. The spiritual satisfaction of life on the edge offered to the neoliberal subject acts as a form seduction and mirrors the creative freedom offered through bohemia. Neoliberalism’s gift, however, comes at a price, the edgy existence is coupled with removal of social safety nets and increasing insecurity and precariatisation.
Paper presented at the British Association of American Studies annual conference. Birmingham Univ... more Paper presented at the British Association of American Studies annual conference. Birmingham University, April 2014
Paper presented at the conference, Neoliberalism and Everyday Life, Brighton University. Septembe... more Paper presented at the conference, Neoliberalism and Everyday Life, Brighton University. September, 2014
The following is not a commentary on Plato but a commentary on two readers of Plato, a commentary... more The following is not a commentary on Plato but a commentary on two readers of Plato, a commentary on commentaries: Leo Strauss's On Plato's Symposium, 1 a transcription of a series of lectures, and Allan Bloom's (Strauss's own student) essay The Ladder of Love.
Talks by David Hancock
Books by David Hancock
The Countercultural Logic of Neoliberalism, 2019
Why, since the financial crisis of 2008, has neoliberal capitalism remained seemingly impregnable... more Why, since the financial crisis of 2008, has neoliberal capitalism remained seemingly impregnable? Why, when it is shown as no longer capable of delivering on its economic promises does its logic pervade all facets of contemporary life? How has it seduced us? This book examines the seductive appeal of neoliberalism by understanding it as a fundamentally countercultural logic. Unlike earlier modes of capitalism, neoliberalism is infused by spirit of rebellion and self-creation, with the idealised neoliberal subject overturning traditional morality whilst creating new modes of being based on risk and excess. Tracing the development of the logic of neoliberalism from its beginnings in the thought of Friedrich Hayek in the wake of the post-war period, through the work of neoconservative writers overcoming and moving beyond what they perceived as the nihilism of both the counterculture and capitalism of the 1960s and ’70s, to its establishment as a new moral order underpinning the economic system from the 1980s onwards, the author argues that it is only through a clear understanding of the seduction of neoliberalism that it can be overcome by reimagining our relationships to work and society.
In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was ... more In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was an era of crisis and an accumulated past, the present epoch will perhaps be one of space. In his essay Foucault coined the term “heterotopias” to signify other spaces that effectively enact utopic spaces in which, “the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted.” For Foucault, heterotopic spaces were first spaces of crisis, or transformative spaces, however in the modern epoch heterotopias of crisis have given way to heterotopias of deviation and spaces of discipline such as psychiatric hospitals or prisons. Rather than disappearing, as Foucault contends, this brief essay can be read as a call to think through how spaces of crisis and critique are in fact still functioning to open up disruptive, subversive or minoritarian fields within already existing discourses, be they philosophical, political, cultural or aesthetic.
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
Edited Collections by David Hancock
Spaces of Crisis and Critique: Heterotopias Beyond Foucault (Bloomsbury), 2018
In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was ... more In “Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias” Foucault asserted that while the 19th Century was an era of crisis and an accumulated past, the present epoch will perhaps be one of space. In his essay Foucault coined the term “heterotopias” to signify other spaces that effectively enact utopic spaces in which, “the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted.” For Foucault, heterotopic spaces were first spaces of crisis, or transformative spaces, however in the modern epoch heterotopias of crisis have given way to heterotopias of deviation and spaces of discipline such as psychiatric hospitals or prisons. Rather than disappearing, as Foucault contends, this brief essay can be read as a call to think through how spaces of crisis and critique are in fact still functioning to open up disruptive, subversive or minoritarian fields within already existing discourses, be they philosophical, political, cultural or aesthetic.
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
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Papers by David Hancock
Findings strongly suggest that aspirants to higher education (including healthcare workers) do not recognise 'widening participation' as a phrase, potentially limiting the impact of interventions as the target groups may assume it does not apply to them. Conversely, advocates for this group (practitioners in both higher education and healthcare) offer a range of definitions, however the breadth of definitions allows for different priorities. There is some evidence that this results in higher education and healthcare employers targeting different groups, with universities looking to enrol students from non-traditional backgrounds but often with traditional qualifications, and employers wishing to concentrate most of their effort on supporting existing staff into higher education.
In contrast to definitions in policy documents which focus on deficits, both advocates and aspirants spoke about the positive qualities brought by students typically targeted by widening participation initiatives. Along with discussing the lack of concept recognition in the workplace, this paper argues for the development and widespread adoption of a definition enshrining the creation of equal access as a positive step, rather than a deficit remediation.
Talks by David Hancock
Books by David Hancock
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
Edited Collections by David Hancock
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
Findings strongly suggest that aspirants to higher education (including healthcare workers) do not recognise 'widening participation' as a phrase, potentially limiting the impact of interventions as the target groups may assume it does not apply to them. Conversely, advocates for this group (practitioners in both higher education and healthcare) offer a range of definitions, however the breadth of definitions allows for different priorities. There is some evidence that this results in higher education and healthcare employers targeting different groups, with universities looking to enrol students from non-traditional backgrounds but often with traditional qualifications, and employers wishing to concentrate most of their effort on supporting existing staff into higher education.
In contrast to definitions in policy documents which focus on deficits, both advocates and aspirants spoke about the positive qualities brought by students typically targeted by widening participation initiatives. Along with discussing the lack of concept recognition in the workplace, this paper argues for the development and widespread adoption of a definition enshrining the creation of equal access as a positive step, rather than a deficit remediation.
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.
This book draws on philosophic, aesthetic and political discourses to formulate an interdisciplinary approach to the spatial that aims to rupture not only the particularities of spatial discourses, but the very possibility of thought itself through challenging existing borders, boundaries, horizons, surfaces and planes. With essays on politics, philosophy, literature, post-colonial studies and aesthetics from established and emerging academics, this book answers Foucault’s call to think through spaces of crisis and critique in order to give us a better understanding of our present epoch.