Read complete books and articles on: Michel Foucault

Foucault, Michel - 1926–84, French philosopher and historian. He was professor at the Collège de France (1970–84). He is renowned for historical studies that reveal the sometimes morally disturbing power relations inherent in social practices. Influenced by Nietzsche, he called these studies, such as Madness and Civilization (1961, tr. 1970), "genealogies."

14 of the Best Books and Articles on: Michel Foucault

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Understanding Foucault » Read Now
by Geoff Danaher, Tony Schirato, Jennifer Webb. 172 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

An accessible and comprehensive introduction to the work of the influential thinker Michel Foucault.
2.

Michel Foucault » Read Now
by Barry Smart. 150 pgs.

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In investigating the major works of Michel Foucault, Barry Smart focuses on the analysis of the relations of power and knowledge and modes of objectification through which human beings are made subjects; and addresses controversial issues concerning the state and resistance to power. The development...
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In investigating the major works of Michel Foucault, Barry Smart focuses on the analysis of the relations of power and knowledge and modes of objectification through which human beings are made subjects; and addresses controversial issues concerning the state and resistance to power. The development of Foucault's work from the early text on madness to the final studies of sexuality, and the question of the work's methodological value and status as a form of critical analysis, are reviewed comprehensively. Barry Smart's detailed discussion of the contribution of Foucault's work to social analysis and research will promote fresh interest in the stimulating originality of Foucault's project.
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3.

Michel Foucault: Materialism and Education » Read Now
by Mark Olssen. 206 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Education, Entire Library

Although Foucault departs from Marxism, his own approach constitutes a form of consistent materialism which has theoretical implications for the analysis of social and educational discursive systems. In seeking to demonstrate a correct reading of Foucault, linguistic readings of his work, such as...
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Although Foucault departs from Marxism, his own approach constitutes a form of consistent materialism which has theoretical implications for the analysis of social and educational discursive systems. In seeking to demonstrate a correct reading of Foucault, linguistic readings of his work, such as those of Christopher Norris (1993), which represent him as part of the linguistic turn in French philosophy, where "language (or representation) henceforth defines the limits of thought," will be dispelled in the process of being corrected. Rather, Foucault will be represented, as Habermas (1987) has suggested, "not merely as a historicist" but at the same time as a "nominalist, materialist, and empiricist."
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4.

Starting with Foucault: An Introduction to Genealogy » Read Now
by C. G. Prado. 194 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

In this clear, straightforward introduction to Foucault's thought, Prado focuses on Discipline and Punish and the first volume of The History of Sexuality, in which Foucault most clearly comes to grips with the historicization of truth and knowledge and the formation of subjectivity. This...
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In this clear, straightforward introduction to Foucault's thought, Prado focuses on Discipline and Punish and the first volume of The History of Sexuality, in which Foucault most clearly comes to grips with the historicization of truth and knowledge and the formation of subjectivity. This introduction is especially suited for readers with a background in Anglo-American or "analytic" philosophy.
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5.

Marx, Foucault, Genealogy, in Polity » Read Now
by Bradley J. Macdonald. 26 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...be expected of communism. --Michel Foucault (1) To hear Foucault tell...Charles Lemert and Garth Gillan, Michel Foucault: Social Theory and Transgression...50.) In...
6.

Race and the Education of Desire: Foucault's History of Sexuality and the Colonial Order of Things » Read Now
by Ann Laura Stoler. 238 pgs.

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...years ago when I first read Michel Foucaults The History of Sexuality while...1 Michel Foucault, Remarks on Marx New York...David Macey, The Lives of Michel Foucault New...
7.

Foucault and the Critique of Institutions » Read Now
by John Caputo, Mark Yount. 271 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...0-271-00938-1 pbk. 1. Foucault, Michel. 2. Associations, institutions...organized around the work of Michel Foucault that was conducted by the Consortium...1 See Michel...
8.

Foucault's Discipline: The Politics of Subjectivity » Read Now
by John S. Ransom. 226 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

In Foucault's Discipline, John S. Ransom extracts a distinctive vision of the political world -- and oppositional possibilities within it -- from the welter of disparate topics and projects Michel Foucault pursued over his lifetime. Uniquely, Ransom presents Foucault as a political theorist in the...
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In Foucault's Discipline, John S. Ransom extracts a distinctive vision of the political world -- and oppositional possibilities within it -- from the welter of disparate topics and projects Michel Foucault pursued over his lifetime. Uniquely, Ransom presents Foucault as a political theorist in the tradition of Weber and Nietzsche, and specifically examines Foucault's work in relation to the political tradition of liberalism and the Frankfurt School. By concentrating primarily on Discipline and Punish and the later Foucauldian texts, Ransom provides a fresh interpretation of this controversial philosopher's perspectives on concepts such as freedom, right, truth, and power.
Foucault's Discipline demonstrates how Foucault's valorization of descriptive critique over prescriptive plans of action can be applied to the decisively altered political landscape of the end of this millennium. By reconstructing the philosopher's arguments concerning the significance of disciplinary institutions, biopower, subjectivity, and forms of resistance in modern society, Ransom shows how Foucault has provided a different way of looking at and responding to contemporary models of government -- in short, a new depiction of the political world.
Foucault's Discipline breaks new ground for scholars interested in reading Foucault as a political theorist. Readers engaged in the areas of postmodern political thought and social and political theory will welcome its publication.
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9.

Freedom's Moment: An Essay on the French Idea of Liberty from Rousseau to Foucault » Read Now
by Paul M. Cohen. 229 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

What kind of freedom, and what kind of individual, has the French Revolutionary tradition sought to propagate? Paul Cohen finds a distinctly French articulation of freedom in the texts and lives of eight renowned cultural critics who lived between the eighteenth century and the present day...
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What kind of freedom, and what kind of individual, has the French Revolutionary tradition sought to propagate? Paul Cohen finds a distinctly French articulation of freedom in the texts and lives of eight renowned cultural critics who lived between the eighteenth century and the present day. Arranged not according to the lives and times of its protagonists but to the narrative themes and structures they held in common, Cohen’s study discerns a single master narrative of liberty in modern France. He captures these radicals, whose tradition bids them to resist the authority of power structures and public opinion. They denounce bourgeois and utilitarian values, the power of Church and State, and the corrupting influence of everyday politics, and they dream of a revolutionary rupture, a fleeting instant of sometimes violent but always meaningful transgression. An eloquent and insightful work on French political culture, Freedom's Moment also helps explain how France, even as it has oscillated between political stagnation and crisis, has held onto its faith that liberty, equality, and fraternity remain within its grasp. Examines the ideas of Rousseau, Robespierre, Stendahl, Michelet, Bergson, Peguy, Sartre, and Foucault.
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10.

Sartre, Foucault, and Historical Reason » Read Now
by Thomas R. Flynn. 340 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, History, Entire Library

Sartre and Foucault were two of the most prominent and at times mutually antagonistic philosophical figures of the twentieth century. And nowhere are the antithetical natures of their existentialist and poststructuralist philosophies more apparent than in their disparate approaches to historical...
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Sartre and Foucault were two of the most prominent and at times mutually antagonistic philosophical figures of the twentieth century. And nowhere are the antithetical natures of their existentialist and poststructuralist philosophies more apparent than in their disparate approaches to historical understanding. A history, thought Foucault, should be a kind of map, a comparative charting of structural transformations and displacements. But for Sartre, authentic historical understanding demanded a much more personal and committed narrative, a kind of interpretive diary of moral choices and risks compelled by critical necessity and an exacting reality. Sartre's history, a rational history of individual lives and their intrinsic social worlds, was in essence immersed in biography. In Volume One of this authoritative two-volume work, Thomas R. Flynn conducts a pivotal and comprehensive reconstruction of Sartrean historical theory, and provocatively anticipates the Foucauldian counterpoint to come in Volume Two.
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11.

Feminism and Empowerment: A Critical Reading of Foucault, in Feminist Studies » Read Now
by Monique Deveaux. 25 pgs.

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...subject to the extent that Michel Foucault has. Indeed, even scholars who...and Power", af terword to Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics...of Freedom:...
12.

Between Power and Knowledge: Habermas, Foucault, and the Future of Legal Studies, in Law & Society Review » Read Now
by Jonathan Simon. 15 pgs.

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...engagement with the work of Michel Foucault is particularly relevant to...Paul Rabinow ( 1983 ) Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics...91 Michigan Law...
13.

The Prophet and the Dandy: Philosophy as a Way of Life in Nietzsche and Foucault, in Social Research » Read Now
by James Miller. 26 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...included Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault -- two modern-day gadflies...be regarded as valid, then Michel Foucault evidently did not advance a...It is worth recalling...
14.

Interpreting Foucault, in Papers on Language & Literature » Read Now
by Karlis Racevskis. 15 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Literature, Entire Library

...Karlis Racevskis When Michel Foucault was once asked whether he considered...Heidegger by Charles E. Scott and Michel Foucaults Force of Flight: Toward an Ethics...REVIEWED...