Michel Foucault

Paul-Michel Foucault was a French <a href="/facts/History_of_ideas/363gKSRc">historian of ideas</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosopher</a> who was also an author, <a href="/facts/Literary_criticism/sj0LQGdF">literary critic</a>, <a href="/facts/Activism/SCUlsxxH">political activist</a>, and teacher. Foucault's theories primarily addressed the relationships between <a href="/facts/Power_(social_and_political)/Q4feTyU6">power</a> versus <a href="/facts/Knowledge/joozoaup">knowledge</a> and <a href="/facts/Liberty/fHvkBVSv">liberty</a>, and he analyzed how they are used as a form of <a href="/facts/Social_control/TaKTLlr9">social control</a> through multiple institutions. Though often cited as a <a href="/facts/Structuralism/qWLvWtfb">structuralist</a> and <a href="/facts/Postmodernism/aBgbw8QJ">postmodernist</a>, Foucault rejected these labels and sought to critique <a href="/facts/Authority/6ksKEFDr">authority</a> without limits on himself. His thought has influenced academics within a large number of contrasting areas of study, with this especially including those working in <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>, <a href="/facts/Communication_studies/5H7v0uMg">communication studies</a>, <a href="/facts/Criminology/vu3fwnut">criminology</a>, <a href="/facts/Cultural_studies/nzGG7c5V">cultural studies</a>, <a href="/facts/Feminism/RRqUvGmk">feminism</a>, <a href="/facts/Literary_theory/CK3TAHoN">literary theory</a>, <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychology</a>, and <a href="/facts/Sociology/d2Fd0N87">sociology</a>. His efforts against <a href="/facts/Homophobia/Xzeqopl5">homophobia</a> and <a href="/facts/Racial_prejudice/SfrqGbu8">racial prejudice</a> as well as against other <a href="/facts/Ideology/BWooMbq7">ideological doctrines</a> have also shaped research into <a href="/facts/Critical_theory/2R9f1DNe">critical theory</a> and <a href="/facts/Marxism%E2%80%93Leninism/bXD3yf3m">Marxism–Leninism</a> alongside other topics.
Born in <a href="/facts/Poitiers/cTXhTrg1">Poitiers</a>, France, into an <a href="/facts/Upper-middle-class/GMXfGJhg">upper-middle-class</a> family, Foucault was educated at the <a href="/facts/Lyc%C3%A9e_Henri-IV/x8DQcwFY">Lycée Henri-IV</a>, at the <a href="/facts/%C3%89cole_Normale_Sup%C3%A9rieure/KQtorjQB">École Normale Supérieure</a>, where he developed an interest in philosophy and came under the influence of his tutors <a href="/facts/Jean_Hyppolite/0muCmuCD">Jean Hyppolite</a> and <a href="/facts/Louis_Althusser/U0KTh59v">Louis Althusser</a>, and at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Paris/yXAx8nlG">University of Paris</a> (<a href="/facts/University_of_Paris/yXAx8nlG">Sorbonne</a>), where he earned degrees in philosophy and psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, <a href="/facts/Madness_and_Civilization/9KAldDFj">The History of Madness</a> (1961). After obtaining work between 1960 and 1966 at the <a href="/facts/Blaise_Pascal_University/QUy7kXUR">University of Clermont-Ferrand</a>, he produced <a href="/facts/The_Birth_of_the_Clinic/xbAy8YF2">The Birth of the Clinic</a> (1963) and <a href="/facts/The_Order_of_Things/lFARcHJt">The Order of Things</a> (1966), publications that displayed his increasing involvement with structuralism, from which he later distanced himself. These first three histories exemplified a <a href="/facts/Historiography/NVMMC3FP">historiographical</a> technique Foucault was developing, which he called "<a href="/facts/Archaeology_of_knowledge/QD7PLUJ4">archaeology</a>".
From 1966 to 1968, Foucault lectured at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Tunis/HTQ211yQ">University of Tunis</a>, before returning to France, where he became head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of <a href="/facts/Paris_VIII/3oTdcLQU">Paris VIII</a>. Foucault subsequently published <a href="/facts/The_Archaeology_of_Knowledge/QD7PLUJ4">The Archaeology of Knowledge</a> (1969). In 1970, Foucault was admitted to the <a href="/facts/Coll%C3%A8ge_de_France/zDuHr8f1">Collège de France</a>, a membership he retained until his death. He also became active in several <a href="/facts/Left-wing_politics/JUcz1kvS">left-wing groups</a> involved in campaigns against racism and other violations of <a href="/facts/Human_rights/WMW5XCdM">human rights</a>, focusing on struggles such as <a href="/facts/Prison_reform/ADYoXaQc">penal reform</a>. Foucault later published <a href="/facts/Discipline_and_Punish/W7utymRW">Discipline and Punish</a> (1975) and <a href="/facts/The_History_of_Sexuality/k1vmpQDQ">The History of Sexuality</a> (1976), in which he developed archaeological and <a href="/facts/Genealogy_(philosophy)/Tzxrw5Ct">genealogical</a> methods that emphasized the role that power plays in society.
Foucault died in Paris from complications of <a href="/facts/HIV/AIDS/RqLIEMuJ">HIV/AIDS</a>. He became the first <a href="/facts/Celebrity/SALdkGV6">public figure</a> in France to die from complications of the disease, with his <a href="/facts/Charisma/TGIUkdt9">charisma</a> and <a href="/facts/Career_history/42rU4I9w">career influence</a> changing mass awareness of the <a href="/facts/Pandemic/KaJe9rTu">pandemic</a>. This occurrence influenced <a href="/facts/HIV/AIDS_activism/9NrzjfBK">HIV/AIDS activism</a>; his partner, <a href="/facts/Daniel_Defert/sKIXjFJM">Daniel Defert</a>, founded the <a href="/facts/AIDES/6W0aIXle">AIDES</a> charity in his memory. It continues to campaign as of 2024, despite the deaths of both Defert (in 2023) and Foucault (in 1984).

Michel Foucault open-in-new

Michel Foucault