Abnormal: Lectures at the College de France, 1974-1975 (Lectures at the College de France)

The second volume in an unprecedented publishing event: the complete Collège de France lectures of one of the most influential thinkers of the last century. Michel Foucault remains among the towering intellectual figures of postmodern philosophy. His works on sexuality, madness, the prison, and medicine are classics; his example continues to challenge and inspire. From 1971 until his death in 1984, Foucault gave public lectures at the world-famous Collège de France. These lectures were seminal events. Attended by thousands, they created benchmarks for contemporary critical inquiry.The lectures comprising Abnormal begin by examining the role of psychiatry in modern criminal justice, and its method of categorizing individuals who "resemble their crime before they commit it." Building on the themes of societal self-defense in the first volume of this series, Foucault shows how and why defining "abnormality" and "normality" were prerogatives of power in the nineteenth century, shaping the institutions—from the prison system to the family—meant to deal in particular with “monstrosity,” whether sexual, phsyical, or spiritual. The Collège de France lectures add immeasurably to our appreciation of Foucault's thought, and offer a unique window on his singular worldview. "From 1971 Until His Death in 1984, Michel Foucault taught at the College de France, one of the most unique and renowned institutions of learning in the world. It enrolls no students and confers no degrees. Professors are required to deliver lectures to the general public on topics from their ongoing research. Foucault's lectures at the College were extraordinary events. To the audiences that attended them -- frequently numbering in the thousands -- they were seminal events, profoundly influencing an entire generation of scholars, students, and writers. These lectures, painstakingly reconstructed from tape recordings and from Foucault's own notes, are now being made available in English for the first time. Under the guidance of series editor Arnold I. Davidson, Holtzbrinck will publish all thirteen volumes of the lectures in North America." "Abnormal is the second volume of this series. Based on lectures given in 1974-1975 -- the period when Foucault was working on Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison and the first volume of the History of Sexuality -- they reveal Foucault's ongoing investigation into the "network of power and knowledge" constituted by discipline, normalization, and biopolitics. He argues that the three figures of the human monster, the individual to be corrected, and the onanist were brought together under the domain of the abnormal at the beginning of the nineteenth century, linking deformity, delinquency, and sexual deviancy. Rather than being purely coercive and violent, however, power, Foucault argues, must also be conceived of as productive: a power that is linked to positive techniques of intervention, transformation, and fabrication. He also traces a shift here from judicial inquiry of actions and relationships to an "examination" of the body and its desires. "The body and its pleasures, rather than the required form for legitimate union become, as it were, the code of the carnal." As Davidson emphasizes in his introduction to this volume, Abnormal "adds yet another layer to the virtually inexhaustible fields of study that Foucault's work has bequeathed to us." Indeed, every course at the College de France contributes immeasurably to our understanding and appreciation of the most important works of one of our greatest contemporary thinkers. These lectures also stand on their own as incomparable performances of intellectual daring, imagination, and insight. Book jacket."--Jacket El curso sobre *Los anormales*, dictado en el Collége de France entre enero y marzo de 1975, prolonga los análisis que Michel Foucault consagró desde 1970 a la cuestión del saber y el poder: poder disciplinario, poder de normalización, biopoder. A partir de múltiples fuentes teológicas, jurídicas y médicas, Foucault enfoca el problema de esos individuos peligrosos a quienes, en el siglo XIX, se denomino "anormales". Define sus tres figuras principales: los monstruos, que hacen referencia a las leyes de la naturaleza y las normas de la sociedad; los incorregibles, de quienes se encargan los nuevos dispositivos de domesticación del cuerpo; y los onanístas, que alimentan, desde el siglo xvin, una campaña orientada al disciplinamiento de la familia moderna. Los análisis de Foucault toman como punto de partida las pericias médico legales que aún se practicaban en la década de 1950. Esboza a continuación una arqueología del instinto y del deseo, a partir de las técnicas de la revelación en la confesión y en la dirección de conciencia. De ese modo, Foucault plantea las premisas históricas y teóricas de trabajos que retomará, modificará y reelaborará en su enseñanza en el Collége de France y las obras ulteriores. Este curso representa, por lo tanto, un elemento esencial para seguir las investigaciones de Foucault en su formación, sus prolongaciones y sus desarrollos. From 1971 until his death in 1984, Foucault gave public lectures at the world-famous College de France. Attended by thousands, these were seminal events in the world of French letters. Picador is proud to be publishing the lectures in thirteen volumes. The lectures comprising "Abnormal" begin by examining the role of psychiatry in modern criminal justice, and its method of categorizing individuals who "resemble their crime before they commit it." Building on the themes of societal self-defense in "Society Must Be Defended," Foucault shows how and why defining "abnormality" and "normality" were preorogatives of power in the nineteenth century. The College de France lectures add immeasurably to our appreciation of Foucault's work and offer a unique window into his thinking Michel Foucault ; Edited By Valerio Marchetti And Antonella Salomoni ; General Editors: François Ewald And Alessandro Fontana ; English Series Editor, Arnold I. Davidson ; Translated By Graham Burchell. This Is The Second Volume In The Complete English-language Edition Of Michel Foucault's Lectures At The Collège De France, 1974-1984--book Jacket. First Published In France By Éditions De Seuil/gallimard Under The Title Les Anormaux: Cours Au Collège De France, 1974-1975. -- T.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 352-356) And Indexes. I WOULD LIKE TO begin this year's course by reading to you two expert psychiatric opinions in penal cases.