Foucault and Hegel: A Theoretical Encounter for Studying Subjectivity and Knowledge in the Contemporary University

This paper brings Foucault and Hegel together in a productive way in the context of examining the relationship between subjectivity and knowledge within the contemporary university. While acknowledging the differences between their intellectual projects, I argue that Foucault’s ethical turn and Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit can complement each other in studying subjectivity-constitution. They share a fundamental premise: transforming the subject’s being is needed to access the truth. These modifications of the subject’s being are carried out by techniques of the self (Foucault) or the path of despair (Hegel). Drawing on the inseparability of epistemology and ethics, I propose an analytical framework for studying the subjectivity-constitution of the subject of knowledge – scholars, academics or researchers – in the contemporary university. The paper aims to contribute to the study of the relationship between subjectivity and knowledge in the modern university, an area often overlooked in higher education and social studies of science.