Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and social theorist who is one of the most influential of the thinkers of the twentieth century. He is known for the studies of the power and the knowledge and the institutions.
Early Life and Education
Foucault was born in 1926 in Poitiers in France. His father was a surgeon and the family was of the prosperous middle class.
He studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He took his doctorate in 1961 with the thesis on the history of the madness.
He taught at the universities of Clermont-Ferrand, Tunis, and Vincennes. He was appointed to the Collège de France in 1970.
The Archaeology of Knowledge
Foucault published the book Madness and Civilization in 1961. The book studies the history of the treatment of the madness.
He published The Birth of the Clinic in 1963 and The Order of Things in 1966. The works study the history of the medical and the human sciences.
He developed the method of the archaeology of the knowledge. The method seeks the underlying rules that govern the discourse of the period.
He published The Archaeology of Knowledge in 1969 as the methodological statement. The work sets out the concepts of the discursive formation.
The Power and the Discipline
Foucault published Discipline and Punish in 1975. The book studies the history of the prison and the discipline.
He developed the concept of the disciplinary power. The power operates through the surveillance and the normalisation.
He used the metaphor of the panopticon of Jeremy Bentham. The metaphor illustrates the workings of the modern discipline.
He published the first volume of The History of Sexuality in 1976. The work studies the discourse of the sexuality in the modern period.
The Later Years and the Legacy
Foucault taught at the Collège de France and the University of California, Berkeley. He was active in the political movements of the period.
He died in 1984 in Paris from the illness related to the AIDS. He was one of the most influential of the intellectuals of his time.
His work has shaped the study of the power and the knowledge. The concepts have influenced the sociology and the history and the literary theory.
He is regarded as one of the most important of the post-structuralist thinkers. His work continues to be studied and debated.
The History of Madness
Foucault published Madness and Civilization in 1961. The book studies the history of the treatment of the madness.
He argued that the madness is a social construction. The definition of the madness changed with the period.
The book was based on his doctoral thesis.
The Archaeology of Knowledge
Foucault published The Order of Things in 1966. The work studies the history of the human sciences.
He developed the method of the archaeology of the knowledge. The method seeks the underlying rules of the discourse.
He published The Archaeology of Knowledge in 1969.
The Discipline and Punish
Foucault published Discipline and Punish in 1975. The book studies the history of the prison.
He developed the concept of the disciplinary power. The power operates through the surveillance.
He used the metaphor of the panopticon.
The History of Sexuality
Foucault published the first volume of The History of Sexuality in 1976. The work studies the discourse of the sexuality.
He argued that the sexuality is a social construction. The discourse of the sexuality changed with the period.
The later volumes were published after his death.
The Career
Foucault taught at the Collège de France from 1970. He was the professor of the history of the systems of thought.
He taught at the universities in the United States and Brazil. He was active in the political movements.
He was one of the most influential of the intellectuals of his time.
The Legacy
Foucault died in 1984 in Paris. He was one of the most important of the post-structuralist thinkers.
His work has shaped the study of the power and the knowledge. The concepts have influenced the sociology and the history.
His work continues to be studied and debated.
The Personal Life
Foucault guarded his private life from the public. The details became known after his death.
He was active in the prison reform and the gay rights movements. He supported the causes of the marginalised.
He died in 1984 in Paris and was one of the most influential of the intellectuals.
The Influence
Foucault was one of the most influential of the intellectuals of his time. The work has shaped the study of the power and the knowledge.
The concepts have influenced the sociology and the history and the literary theory. The work continues to be studied.
He was a central figure of the post-structuralist movement.
See also
- Post-structuralism
- Power and knowledge
- Discipline
- Discourse