In his writings on Governmentality 1977-1984 [1], Michel Foucault developed an innovative and extremely useful instrument for the analysis of power enactment in the late 18th and early 19th century: next to his early theory of disciplinary power, Foucault focused attention in his later work on what he termed pastoral power and the pastoral apparatus as an "individualizing power." He identified the "case" as a central category of modernity and key element in the constitution of power alongside 'security', 'danger', 'risk' and 'crisis'. This panel proposes to explore literary, theoretical and critical instances in the construction of the Pastorate; how such power was imagined, negotiated, countered, and disseminated; literary, psychological, anthropological and medical instances of the actualization of such power; and, finally, the reception, critique and appropriation of these forms of power. I am particularly interested in contributions that will intersect and connect at least two of the four disciplinary formations mentioned in the title. Writers, psychologically-interested theorists, political theorists, anthropologists and physicians to be considered might include Frank, Meiners, Justi, Goethe, Herder, Schiller, Forster, Moritz, Herz, Abel, Sonnenfels, Platner, Reil, Mauchart, and Kleist.

Please send or e-mail a short abstract (250 words) of your proposed talk with a brief description of your current research project by February 1 to Robert Leventhal, The College of William and Mary, email: rsleve@wm.edu.