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by: Gary Gutting
List Price: $11.95Amazon.com's Price: $9.56 You Save: $2.39 (20%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 194
EAN: 9780192805577
ISBN: 0192805576
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 144
Publication Date: June 16, 2005
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Sales Rank: 87341
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Product Description:
From aesthetics to the penal system, and from madness and civilization to avant-garde literature, Foucault was happy to reject old models of thinking and replace them with fresh versions that are still being debated today. A major influence on Queer Theory and gender studies (he was openly gay and died of an AIDS-related illness in 1984), he also wrote on architecture, history, law, medicine, literature, politics, and of course philosophy. He even managed to write a best seller in France on a book dedicated to the history of systems of thought. Because he never succinctly stated his arguments, those trying to come to terms with Foucault's work have desperately sought introductory material to make his theories clear and accessible for the beginner.
Here, Gary Gutting presents a comprehensive but non-systematic treatment of some highlights of Foucault's life and thought. The book begins with a brief biography to set the social and political stage. It then considers Foucault's thoughts on literature, in particular the avant-garde scene, his philosophical and historical work and the reception he received from the historical community, his treatment of knowledge and power in modern society, and his thoughts on sexuality.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - "Very Short" and Very Concise
I wish I'd found this little volume before embarking on an attempt to digest Foucault's major works whole - it might have saved considerable frustration. Don't expect a categorical analysis of any of them from Gutting's survey, that's not what this is for. Do expect a more distant perspective from which the forest is no longer obscured by the trees.
Neither is this a Cliff Notes version of Foucault's work - if you haven't taken the trouble to place that within a larger philosophical ... Read More
Rating: - An outstanding introduction to the thought of Foucault
Gary Gutting's brief survey of the thought of Michel Foucault is not merely one of the best books in Oxford UP's Very Short Introductions series, but one of the clearest, most insightful pieces on Foucault that I've read. I haven't read much Foucault since working my way through most of his books in the late eighties. To prepare for a re-reading of those books I decided to read this book as a refresher/quick overview. Most of the secondary works on Foucault that I read back when where usually borderline ... Read More
Rating:  - This is the place to start for Foucault.
Written in an easy-read, yet perfectly scholarly manner, Foucault: A Very Short Introduction is a great jumping-off point for the student or interested scholar of literary, cultural, and/or political theory. While brief (as promised) and cursory, it nevertheless goes to the heart of much of Foucault's work as it has influenced that of other modern thinkers. An enjoyable read that will no doubt point in many directions for further study. Contains a good bibliography as well.
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