La scrittura dell’"homo criminalis" in Foucault. Dai "frammenti di vita" all’autobiografia

In this paper, I will focus on the practice of writing within Foucault’s thought. My aim is to outline its relevance in determining the "homo criminalis", according to a dialectical movement which follows different steps. Firstly, after a brief consideration of the creation of delinquency during the 'age of disciplines' through the introduction of new practices of knowledge, I will analyze the function of writing during the 17th and 18th centuries, when this practice was exclusively devoted to outlining criminal behavior in the form of "lettres de cachet". This kind of writing aimed to equate the individual’s entire life with crime. Secondly, I will delve into the role of autobiography, which began to be written by criminals in the age of disciplines, but only as an instrument of objectification and reiteration of guilt. Finally, this form of writing is meant to transform itself, shifting into a means of emancipation and resistance to power.