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Foucault Against Himself

In his private life, as well as in his work and political attitudes, Michel Foucault often stood in contradiction to himself, especially when his expansive ideas collided with the institutions in which he worked. In Francois Caillat's provocative collection of essays and interviews based on his French documentary of the same name, leading contemporary critics and philosophers reframe Foucault's legacy in an effort to build new ways of thinking about his struggle against society's mechanisms of domination, demonstrating how conflict within the self lies at the heart of Foucault's life and work.Includes a foreword written especially for this edition by Paul Rabinow, Professor of Anthropology at the University of California (Berkeley) and an influential writer on the works of Foucault; he is the co-editor of The Essential Foucault.Foucault against Himself features essays and interviews by:Leo Bersani, American Professor Emeritus of French at the University of California (Berkeley) and the author of Homos;Georges Didi-Huberman, French philosopher and art historian; his most recent book is Gerhard Richter: Pictures/SeriesArlette Farge, French historian and the author of The Allure of the Archives;Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, French philosopher and the author of La derniere lecon de Michel Foucault.

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press; Tra edition (October 13, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1551526026

ISBN-13: 978-1551526027

Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.4 x 7.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Best Sellers Rank: #464,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #17 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Movements > Structuralism #129 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Nonfiction > Philosophy #229 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Criticism

Foucault Against Himself... serves as an excellent companion both for those who are very familiar with his work as well as those who may have only read a couple of books and perhaps some essays. As the book's blurb suggests it addresses what may appear to be contradictions within Foucault's various works in an attempt to both understand those apparent contradictions as well as shed some light on his entire 'body' of work. It is this second purpose in which this collection excels.Many of us were first introduced to Foucault's writings through a specific area of study (such as gender studies) and/or a particular use of a work of his (such as self-surveillance). As such we likely worked closely with a text, maybe two. If we then went on to read other works we may well have wondered about inconsistencies, as we perceived them. This book covers the arc of his entire writing and research history and each contributor brings a different perspective to bear on Foucault's evolving thought over this time. These are some wonderful overviews of his work but what I found most enlightening was the new way I now view his writings.This is my take-away from the book so I don’t want to lay the blame for any conflict on the writers. What I do want to do is show how this collection affected my thinking about Foucault with the intention of illustrating that others may also take away a differently nuanced perspective of his overall work. I was never particularly put off by apparent contradictions though they did at times confuse the idea of a “Foucauldian” reading of a text, whatever a text may be at the time.

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