Length: 2500 words
Develop your own philosophy of topic of education, using resources that I will put their links below and scholar references in separate file.
The topic is Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia.
Michel Foucault concepts are governmentality, freedom, power, care of self, ethics and knowledge.
This assignment is an essay with introduction, main body and conclusion. The essay should explore a range of Michel Foucault’s key concepts to discuss the difficulties in implementing Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia as it relates to governmentality, freedom, power, care of self, ethics and knowledge. Your philosophy is developed on the foundation of Michel Foucault’s concepts and a belief that Distance Learning is essential for students who need it in Saudi Arabia in 2500 words.
Like Foucault, you retain your focus on concrete events, practices and programs for action, whether these are historical or contemporary, rather than engaging in abstract speculation. Use both the set readings and associated wider readings you have done as models of how to construct your own personal philosophy of Distance Learning.
An epigraph is a quotation set at the beginning of essay.
You may choose passages either from the set readings or quotations from any other work by Foucault you find of interest. You can also find an additional list of quotations here:http://www.michel-foucault.com/quote/
For (not always entirely scholarly) examples of how quotations from Foucault can be used as epigraphs see:http://inputs.wordpress.com/category/foucault/quotations
Citations (including epigraphs) are not included as part of the set word length.
There is another file “sample answer” as an example answer, read it to get full idea about the task.
Important,Items you have referred to in your text. Minimum of 20scholarly referencesoverall, at least four of them should be from Michel Foucault’s origin works. Use APA format. There is another file that I have uploaded it has the list of references. You need to read this file and use the references there.References must be real and not fake. The references should be from the list in the “References file”and use the link below to get articles about Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia also Michel Foucault’s origin works. Use page numbers for your in text references unless, of course, it comes from an internet site with no page numbers. The convention in the humanities and social sciences is to use page numbers as the texts are usually much longer than they are in the sciences. The whole point of providing references and page numbers is so that readers of your work can easily find references of interest to them in your work. Check carefully to make sure that all the references you include in your text are also included in your reference list. If you refer to an author in your text, eg (Agamben 2012, p.16), a full reference must be provided in your bibliography. Otherwise you should adhere to the following convention: (Foucault cited in Rose, 2013, p.3). Rose must then of course be referenced in full in your bibliography.
Also, in this link you will find a file contains some useful articles talking about Distance Learning in Saudi Arabia and some Michel Foucault’s works to use them. copy it and paste it in internet explorer. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3kxpvew9d6j4xx0/AAA4ZFwrI9g-nI-405jCE5z3a?dl=0
A few general areas dealt with by philosophy.
What is knowledge and what is valid knowledge? Who defines particular forms of knowledge as valid? How do we organise knowledge in relation to the world we live in
These relations can be placed in historical and localised contexts (eg how these operate in institutions with an educational function)
As you are writing a personal philosophy of education and/or professional practice, youressay can also use the genre of ‘reflective writing’ as well as standard scholarly writing. For a definition of reflective writing see http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-support-services/ask/downloads/Reflective-writing—a-basic-introduction.pdf
Use subheadings to organise your essay.
Your interview write up in the Appendix is not included in the set word length.
Foucault on philosophy
‘What is philosophy if not a way of reflecting, not so much on what is true and what is false, as on our relationship to truth? … The movement by which, not without effort and uncertainty, dreams and illusions, one detaches oneself from what is accepted as true and seeks other rules – that is philosophy.’
Michel Foucault. (1997) [1980].‘The Masked Philosopher’. In J. Faubion (ed.). Tr. Robert Hurley and others. Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth. The Essential Works of Michel Foucault 1954-1984.Volume One.Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, Allen Lane, p. 327. Translation modified.
What is philosophy?’ This is a question that Foucault raises on numerous occasions in various forms throughout his work. For all the variations in his response to this question, he always insisted that philosophy operated firmly within a historical context and could only manifest itself through quite specific historical practices and events and the way we engage historically with ourselves and others.
Philosophy, for Foucault, is not a question of stripping away historical accidents so that we can discover what is absolutely true for all time, rather it is a way of examining the ways in which people and systems of knowledge have made a division between the true and the false in very specific historical contexts. These divisions directly impact on the ways people conduct themselves in relation to themselves and others. Philosophy should also, in Foucault’s view, deal with the question of what is happening right now and with what our responsibilities are in relation to this very specific time and place.
Overall Suggestions
We are engaging with the work of Michel Foucault in this task as one model of how philosophy and theory can be practised. I would suggest that, like Foucault, you retain your focus on concrete events, practices and programs for action, whether these are historical or contemporary, rather than engaging in abstract speculation. Use both the set readings and associated wider readings you have done as models of how to construct your own personal philosophy of education or professional practice or reflection on the institution of the family.
I would strongly suggest avoiding much of the literature in English labelled ‘philosophy of education.
A few suggestions to help you structure your response
1. Use the notions of the care of the self and others, as they are discussed by Foucault, to examine your role as either educator, family member or professional.
2. Using Foucault’s four part model of how the ethical relationship to self and others is created historically, examine your role as either educator, family member or professional in your social, cultural and historical context. Also discuss the modifications that you as an individual bring to these contexts and formations.
You can find the description of this 4 part model in these two readings which are included in the set reading list:
Michel Foucault [1984] “On the genealogy of ethics: an overview of work in progress” P. Rabinow, ed., (1991)The Foucault Reader (London: Penguin), pp. 350-9.
Foucault, M. (1991).The Use of Pleasure.The History of Sexuality vol 2.Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1992. Introduction: Chapter 3. Morality and Practice of the Self, pp. 25-32.
There is also a wide secondary literature employing this four part structure.
3. Using Foucault’s notion of governmentality, describe how you are governed and govern yourself and others in your professional or family role.
Knowledge and power
