Biopolitics

Code:

MFIL053

Acronym:

Bio

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Philosophy

Instance: 2025/2026 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Philosophy

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MFIL	16	study plan	1	-	6	41	162
MFPE	8	Study plan	1	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

To develop a critical approach to a few aesthetic issues and contemporary policies based on theorizing the concept of “Biopolitics”. This course unit specifically aims for students to: Learn the philosophical critiques to the principles of discipline and standardization, taking into consideration the ethical-political implications from the perspective defined by modern biopolitics (Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Roberto Esposito, Toni Negri, Judith Butler).

Learning outcomes and competences

To develop a critical approach to a few aesthetic issues and contemporary policies based on theorizing the concept of “Biopolitics”.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Biopolitics. Genealogy of a concept.
1.1. Normalized life. The biopolitical issue.

2. Governamentalization, counter-conducts and acts of resistance

3. Experience, body and silence: fragments, war machines and resistance

4. A thought on the event.
4.1. Ethics of “care of the self” and “aesthetic of existence”. Processes of subjectivation and lines of flight.

Mandatory literature

FOUCAULT, Michel; Il faut defendre la société. Cours au Collège de France. 1976 , Paris: Gallimard/Le Seuil , 1997
AGAMBEN, Giorgio; O poder soberano e a vida nua. Homo Sacer, Lisboa: Editorial Presença, 1998
BARTHES, Roland; Lição, Lisboa.: Edições 70, 1997
FOUCAULT, Michel; Naissance de la clinique. Une archéologie du regard medical , Paris: Presses Universitaires de France , 1963
FOUCAULT, Michel ; L’usage des plaisirs. Histoire de la sexualité II, Paris: Gallimard, 1984
FOUCAULT, Michel; Dits et écrits. 1954-1988, 4 vols. , Paris: Gallimard, 1994
FOUCAULT, Michel; Securité, territoire, population. Cours au Collège de France 1977-1978, EHESS| Gallimard| Seuil, Paris, 2004
FOUCAULT, Michel; Naissance de la biopolitique. Cours au Collège de France 1978-1979, EHESS| Gallimard| Seuil, Paris, 2004
VILELA, E.; Silêncios Tangíveis. Corpo, Resistência e Testemunho nos Espaços de Abandono Contemporâneos, Afrontamento, 2010
VILELA, E.; Borders, Displacement and Creation. Questioning the Contemporary,, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, 2018

Teaching methods and learning activities

All classes will be theoretical-practical (presentations and reading and discussion of texts and visual material). The texts and visual materials will be commented on during classes. Student participation is encouraged, namely through the presentation of research papers. In the beginning of October, there will be theoretical-practical classes and tutorial supervision classes, where students can debate a few questions stemming from the issues already addressed in the program. a) Each student is required to prepare a brief lecture on the reading and personal study of one of the texts which make up the essential documentation of this course unit, which is to be presented in class in the corresponding session. b) Students will also have to present an essay (10/15 pages maximum) to be submitted in due course, in which students are to relate the ideas developed in the lecture mentioned above in (15a) to the general conclusions drawn from the Seminar that they consider to be the most relevant to their work.

keywords

Humanities > Philosophy

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	25,00
Trabalho escrito	75,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	3,00
Elaboração de projeto	18,00
Estudo autónomo	30,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Trabalho de investigação	40,00
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Students are required to attend at least 75% of classes, except in the cases provided for by law. Subject to the Assessment Regulations in force at FLUP.

Calculation formula of final grade

75% written essay + 25% in presence participation/presentation.

Examinations or Special Assignments

In accordance with the regulations of the Masters Course in History

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

In accordance with the regulations of the Masters Course in History

Classification improvement

Accordance with Assessment Regulations in force.