Foucault Primer: Discourse, Power and the Subject

By: Alec McHoul and Wendy Grace

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Synopsis: 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.