Abnormal: Lectures at the Collége de France, 1974–1975 - Softcover

Foucault

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178478639X ISBN 13: 9781784786397

Publisher: Verso, 2016

Synopsis

Three decades after his death, Michel Foucault remains one of the towering intellectual figures of the last half-century. His works on sexuality, madness, the prison, and medicine are enduring classics. From 1971 until his death in 1984, Foucault gave public lectures at the famous Collège de France. These seminal events, attended by thousands, created the benchmarks for contemporary social enquiry. The lectures comprising Abnormal begin by examining the role of psychiatry in modern criminal justice, and its method of categorising individuals who “resemble their crime before they commit it.” Building on the themes of societal self-defence developed in earlier works, Foucault shows how defining “normality” became a prerogative of power in the nineteenth century, shaping the institutions—from the prisons to the family—meant to deal with “monstrosity,” whether sexual, physical, or spiritual. The Collège de France lectures add immeasurably to our appreciation and understanding of Foucault’s thought.

About this title

About the Author

Michel Foucault was one of the pre-eminent intellectuals of the twentieth century, fundamentally challenging our understandings of power and human society. He is the author of such classic works as Discipline and Punish, The History of Sexuality and The Order of Things.

Edition details

• Publisher: Verso
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178478639X
• ISBN 13: 9781784786397
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400