“ Effective History differs from traditional History in being without constants.”
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Foucault was born on 15 October 1926 in Poitiers as Paul-Michel
Foucault to a notable provincial family. His father, Paul Foucault, was
an eminent surgeon and hoped his son would join him in the
profession.
His early education was a mix of success and mediocrity until he
attended the Jesuit Collège Saint-Stanislas, where he excelled.
Foucault's personal life during the École Normale ( university) was
difficult—he suffered from acute depression] As a result, he was taken
to see a psychiatrist. During this time, Foucault became fascinated
with psychology.
He earned a licence (degree equivalent to BA) in psychology, a very
new qualification in France at the time, in addition to a degree in
philosophy, in 1952.
Foucault was a member of the French Communist Party from 1950 to
1953.
Foucault earned his doctorate in 1961 with his thesis Madness and
Insanity: History of Madness in the Classical Age
In 1968 he published his book on methodology entitled The
Archaeology of Knowledge followed by the History of Sexuality in 1978
Foucault travelled the Middle East, notably Iran and the United States
Between 1977 and his death Foucault was professor of the College of
France delivering public lectures
Foucault died of an AIDS-related illness in Paris on 25 June, 1984. He
was the first high-profile French personality who was reported to have
AIDS.
HISTORICAL
SOCIAL
PERSONAL
• POST MODERNISM
• AIDS
DISCRIMINATION
• POLITICAL ACTIVISM
• Depression
• Gay
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The examination of the situation of people
existing on the margins of society is one of
the mainstays of Foucault's work. His analysis
focuses on the 'negative structures' of society
or excluded groups, as opposed to more
traditional approaches which focus on the
mainstream
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This work examined ideas, practices, institutions, art
and literature relating to madness in western history.
Foucault identifies 3 views of madness;
17th century Europe where a movement called “ the
Great Confinement” saw “ unreasonable “ people locked
away and institutionalized.
18th century saw madness as opposition to reason
19th century where madness was a mental illness
Foucault claims the rise of scientific or humanitarian
treatments were no less controlling, with repeated
brutality intending to alter the judgement of the
patient.
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Focusing primarily on the last two centuries,
Foucault saw the functioning of sexuality as
an analyses of power related to the
emergence of a science of sexuality (scientia
sexualis) and the emergence of biopower in
the West. In particular he examines the
discourse which saw sex as normal/deviant.
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HISTORY AND THE HUMAN SUBJECT
COURSE OF HISTORY
HISTORY AS PERSPECTIVAL KNOWLEDGE
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
HISTORY AS A DISCONTINUOUS PROCESS
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Foucault continually used the principles of
discontinuity, break and difference in his
analyses, in order to undermine philosophical
notions of unchanging essences in history.
These essences include the 'Man' and 'human
nature' and 'great man' of humanist
philosophies. Discontinuity also challenges
notions of cause, effect, progress, destiny,
tradition and influence in history.
EPISTEMES
Modernists
see History
As a
continuous
narrative
Foucault says
it is
discontinuous
Systems of thought
KNOWLEDGE
DISCOURSE
Truth is Historically situated
and the meaning of truths
changes throughout the
various epochs
TRUTH
Discourse
creates a
network of
rules
establishing
what is
meaningful
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Foucault defines 'regimes of truth' as the
historically specific mechanisms which
produce discourses which function as true in
particular times and places.
READ THE ASSOCIATED HANDOUT ON
“TRUTH AND POWER”- MAKE NOTES
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In the philosopher's later years, interpreters of Foucault's work
attempted to engage with the problems presented by the fact that
the late Foucault seemed in tension with the philosopher's earlier
work. When this issue was raised in a 1982 interview, Foucault
remarked "When people say, 'Well, you thought this a few years
ago and now you say something else,' my answer is… [laughs]
'Well, do you think I have worked hard all those years to say the
same thing and not to be changed?'" He refused to identify
himself as a philosopher, historian, structuralist, or Marxist,
maintaining that "The main interest in life and work is to become
someone else that you were not in the beginning." In a similar vein,
he preferred not to claim that he was presenting a coherent and
timeless block of knowledge; he rather desired his books "to be a
kind of tool-box which others can rummage through to find a tool
which they can use however they wish in their own area… I don't
write for an audience, I write for users, not readers.”
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Twenty years ago Michel Foucault was probably the most vilified and criticised of all the socalled 'postmodern theorists', today he is widely accepted as being one of, if not the, most
influential
Baudrillard, the most provocative of the postmodern theorists, authored a book entitled Forget
Foucault. Some writers who were associated with the newer fields of feminist studies and
postcolonial studies strongly criticised Foucault for not dealing specifically with what they
considered to be the most important issues in western history (the exploitation of women and the
enslavement of colonial peoples). And yet, despite these criticisms, both fields are highly indebted
to Foucault. The first volume of The History of Sexuality, which challenged the notion of a
progressive movement in western culture towards "sexual freedom', made many feminists rethink
the relationship between sex, sexuality and identity. And Edward Said Orientalism, probably the
most influential book to come out of postcolonial studies, used theoretical approaches and
language taken directly from Foucault in order to describe and analyse the ways in which the West
'produced' the concepts of the Orient and the oriental for political purposes.
In the last two decades Foucault's books and theories have been taken up and used not only by
academics and students (for instance in cultural studies, history, literature, gender studies,
postcoloniality, sociology and philosophy), but also by professionals in areas such as medicine,
public health, social work and welfare; law, economics, business management and government;
criminology and prison management; media, education, architecture, art and journalism; and
computing, public relations and ecology.
“As far as I can see, all he has to offer are brilliant
redescriptions of the past, supplemented by helpful
hints on how to avoid being trapped by old
historiographical assumptions. These hints consist
largely of saying: do not look for progress or meaning in
history; do not see the history of a given activity, of any
segment of culture, as the development of rationality or
of freedom; do not use any philosophical vocabulary to
characterize the essence of such activity or the goal it
serves; do not assume that the way this activity is
presently conducted gives any clue to the goals it
served in the past."
 – Rorty Foucault and Epistemology, 1986,
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eJ9Gam7owI
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Foucault died of an AIDS-related illness in Paris on 25
June, 1984. He was the first high-profile French
personality who was reported to have AIDS.