For a sub-field organized around health and wellbeing, medical and health geography has had little to say about life and its many forms. At the moment, this is a theoretical gap that is being addressed by geographers operating outside the sub-disicplinary boundaries of medical and health geography. With this in mind, some colleagues (Heather Castleden and Jeff Masuda) and I set out to articulate why and how medical and geographers should engage with this growing literature on the politics of life. Our attempt (below) represents a first intervention and as such is a working draft. The aim is to ‘finish’ this draft by further articulating what is different about engaging with ‘life’ versus ‘health’ and refining some ideas about affirmative biopolitics.
Abstract: Medical and health geographers are united by a dual interest in the politics of health evidenced by overlapping engagements with public policies, most notably those related to health disparities and accessibility to health services. In this literature review we explore the relevance of ‘biopolitics’ as a theoretical framework for critically engaging with the politics of health. Biopolitics directs attention to the powers that organize life itself. We begin by reviewing Michel Foucault’s writings noting what is unique about his perspective and how it helps us see the politics of life in a new way. We then map two contemporary manifestations of the politics of life: molecular politics and geopolitics. We conclude by reflecting upon the ways that biopolitics helps us better understand political investments in life and their stakes while opening doors to a life-affirming domain of praxis.
Joggerfry 