Michel Foucault
French philosopher and historian whose analyses of how knowledge, power, and institutions construct the subject have reshaped the humanities. Discipline and Punish examined the modern prison as a model of social control; The History of Sexuality challenged assumptions about sex and power. He died of AIDS.
Works
- Discipline and PunishHistory and critique of disciplinary power in modern institutions
- The Order of ThingsArchaeology of Western thought through analysis of historical epistemes
- Madness and CivilizationHistory of how madness became medicalized and institutionalized
- The History of SexualityGenealogical study of sexuality, power, and social discourse
- The Archaeology of KnowledgeMethod for analyzing discourse, knowledge systems, and power relations