In this article the author explores Foucault's counter-intuitive views on intellectuals and political activism--a stance he once described as "a hyper- and pessimistic activism" (Foucault, 1983). After contrasting the activist stance of critical pedagogy with Foucault's writing on political activism, the author outlines early attempts to put Foucault's ideas to work in a master's level curriculum course and then explores the case of two English teachers who represented pivotal moments in the course as "critical and effective" in a Foucauldian sense (Dean, 1994). Conceptual and empirical arguments are also explored to consider ethical positions available to curriculum scholars that do not presume that academics should necessarily produce more truth, correct untruth, or align teachers' subjectivities with critical theories that presently hold academic currency.