A Foucault Primer

Discourse, Power and the Subject

Alec McHoul, Wendy Grace
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A Foucault Primer

Subjects

Philosophy

Published

30 November 1989

ISBN

9780522845778

Pages

160

Subjects

Philosophy

Imprint

Melbourne University Press

A Foucault Primer

Discourse, Power and the Subject

Alec McHoul, Wendy Grace
Concentrates on some of the central concepts in Foucault's voluminous and complex writings.
Who are we today? That deceptively simple question continued to be asked by the French historian and philosopher, Michel Foucault, who for the last three decades has had a profound influence on English-speaking scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

A Foucault Primer is designed for undergraduates and others who feel the need of some assistance when coming to grips with Foucault's voluminous and complex writings. Instead of dealing with them chronologically, however, this book concentrates on some of their central concepts, primarily Foucault's rethinking of the categories of discourse, power and the subject (or subjection).

Foucault's writings contribute collectively to what he himself calls 'an ontology of the present'. His historical research was always geared towards showing how things could have been (and still could be) otherwise. This is especially the case with respect to the production of human subjects.
Who are we today? That deceptively simple question continued to be asked by the French historian and philosopher, Michel Foucault, who for the last three decades has had a profound influence on English-speaking scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

A Foucault Primer is designed for undergraduates and others who feel the need of some assistance when coming to grips with Foucault's voluminous and complex writings. Instead of dealing with them chronologically, however, this book concentrates on some of their central concepts, primarily Foucault's rethinking of the categories of discourse, power and the subject (or subjection).

Foucault's writings contribute collectively to what he himself calls 'an ontology of the present'. His historical research was always geared towards showing how things could have been (and still could be) otherwise. This is especially the case with respect to the production of human subjects.

Alec McHoul

Alec McHoul is the author of Telling How Texts Talk and coauthor of Writing Pynchon: strategies on Fictional Analysis. He teaches at Murdoch University in Australia.

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Wendy Grace

Wendy Grace is engaged in postgraduate work on Foucault at Murdoch University in Australia.

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Paperback
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Ships in 4-6 weeks
Other formats available