Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’

Foucault’s concept of ‘pastoral power’ describes an important technique for constituting obedient subjects. Derived from his analysis of the Christian pastorate, he saw pastoral power as a prelude to contemporary technologies of governing ‘beyond the State’, where ‘experts’ shepherd self-governing s...

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Main Authors: Waring, Justin, Latif, Asam
Format: Article
Published: Sage 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40698/
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author Waring, Justin
Latif, Asam
author_facet Waring, Justin
Latif, Asam
author_sort Waring, Justin
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Foucault’s concept of ‘pastoral power’ describes an important technique for constituting obedient subjects. Derived from his analysis of the Christian pastorate, he saw pastoral power as a prelude to contemporary technologies of governing ‘beyond the State’, where ‘experts’ shepherd self-governing subjects. However, the specific practices of modern pastorate have been little developed. This papers examines the relational practices of pastoral power associated with the government of medicine use within the English healthcare system. The study shows how multiple pastors align their complimentary and variegated practices to conduct behaviours, but also how pastors compete for legitimacy, and face resistance through the mobilisation of alternate discourses and the strategic exploitation of pastoral competition. The paper offers a dynamic view of the modern pastorate within the contemporary assemblages of power.
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publishDate 2017
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spelling nottingham-406982020-05-04T18:34:14Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40698/ Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’ Waring, Justin Latif, Asam Foucault’s concept of ‘pastoral power’ describes an important technique for constituting obedient subjects. Derived from his analysis of the Christian pastorate, he saw pastoral power as a prelude to contemporary technologies of governing ‘beyond the State’, where ‘experts’ shepherd self-governing subjects. However, the specific practices of modern pastorate have been little developed. This papers examines the relational practices of pastoral power associated with the government of medicine use within the English healthcare system. The study shows how multiple pastors align their complimentary and variegated practices to conduct behaviours, but also how pastors compete for legitimacy, and face resistance through the mobilisation of alternate discourses and the strategic exploitation of pastoral competition. The paper offers a dynamic view of the modern pastorate within the contemporary assemblages of power. Sage 2017-02-20 Article PeerReviewed Waring, Justin and Latif, Asam (2017) Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’. Sociology . ISSN 1469-8684 Foucault Governmentality Healthcare Medicines Pastoral Power http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038517690680 doi:10.1177/0038038517690680 doi:10.1177/0038038517690680
spellingShingle Foucault
Governmentality
Healthcare
Medicines
Pastoral Power
Waring, Justin
Latif, Asam
Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title_full Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title_fullStr Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title_full_unstemmed Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title_short Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
title_sort of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’
topic Foucault
Governmentality
Healthcare
Medicines
Pastoral Power
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40698/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40698/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40698/