The thought of Michel Foucault (1926-1984) resists categorization. This is in large part due to its interdisciplinary nature, which crosses the boundaries of history, sociology, psychology and philosophy. This class will introduce students to some of the topics in Foucault’s major works on the history of madness, the birth of the penitentiary, the history of the human sciences, bio-power, the history of sexuality, and ethics. Readings will include selections from Foucault’s major published works as well as interviews, lectures, and shorter essays. We will pay particular attention to the evolution of Foucault’s methodology from archaeology to genealogy and Foucault’s later claim that the goal of his work from the 1960s to 1980s has been the creation of a history of the different ways in which human beings are made subjects.
