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History of the Human Sciences
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Modern templates of happiness: performing spiritualism and psychotechnics in Denmark

Peter Triantafillou

Department of Social Sciences, Roskilde University, Denmark, triant{at}ruc.dk

Afonso Moreira

Department of International Development Studies, Roskilde University, Denmark

Inspired by Michel Foucault’s notion of subjugated knowledge, this paper elaborates an analytical framework seeking to unsettle the authority of contemporary psychology. This framework focuses on the performative dimension of psychology and other ‘psy-regimes’, namely the practices and actions that may be undertaken on the basis of these forms of knowledge. We probe this framework by exploring the emergence, utilization and demise of spiritualism (1880s to 1920s) and psychotechnics (1920s to 1960s) in Denmark. On the basis of this framework, we argue that the rise and fall of these psy-regimes may be understood neither in terms of (inadequate) epistemological rigour nor in terms of social repression, but instead as radically contingent events that correlated with particular programs and techniques seeking to promote human happiness and productivity.

Key Words: governmentality • industrial psychology • spiritualism • subjugated knowledge

History of the Human Sciences, Vol. 18, No. 2, 87-109 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0952695105054183
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[Abstract] [PDF]