Lionel, you ask great questions. I enjoy how others have responded. Here
is what I think. Foucault's popularity and notoriety has much to do with
what his intellectual contribution enabled others to do. I first read
Foucault by stumbling across one of his books in the library. I had never
heard of him, nor did I know how to say his name; the title grabbed my
attention--The Order of Things. (At the time, I wanted somebody to please
tell me how things are ordered.)
Fortunately (or not) for me, his work was beginning to be translated into
English, and one of my professors later explained that numerous European
authors were not made available to American readers until the 1960s-70s.
Foucault remains a "notorious" figure for many American university teachers
because their colleagues picked up his work as a way to change the debates
in higher education. The conversation has moved away from Foucault's
detractors, so they talk about the "loss" or "decline" or "grade inflation"
or whatever other term that suggests how dangerous it is to read Foucault
and the other "french guys".
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: Lionel Boxer [mailto:lboxer@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 5:30 PM
To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Foucault's popularity
Does anyone agree with this? Does anyone disagree?
Not to diminish Foucault's intellectucal contribution.
Perhaps his popularity could be explained by his proactive and high profile
social activism that contributed to his popularity.
He provided theory and practice for resistance, but more important he led by
example. He was a total force in that regard; perhaps even a movement.
_________________________________________________________________
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is what I think. Foucault's popularity and notoriety has much to do with
what his intellectual contribution enabled others to do. I first read
Foucault by stumbling across one of his books in the library. I had never
heard of him, nor did I know how to say his name; the title grabbed my
attention--The Order of Things. (At the time, I wanted somebody to please
tell me how things are ordered.)
Fortunately (or not) for me, his work was beginning to be translated into
English, and one of my professors later explained that numerous European
authors were not made available to American readers until the 1960s-70s.
Foucault remains a "notorious" figure for many American university teachers
because their colleagues picked up his work as a way to change the debates
in higher education. The conversation has moved away from Foucault's
detractors, so they talk about the "loss" or "decline" or "grade inflation"
or whatever other term that suggests how dangerous it is to read Foucault
and the other "french guys".
Lisa
-----Original Message-----
From: Lionel Boxer [mailto:lboxer@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 5:30 PM
To: foucault@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Foucault's popularity
Does anyone agree with this? Does anyone disagree?
Not to diminish Foucault's intellectucal contribution.
Perhaps his popularity could be explained by his proactive and high profile
social activism that contributed to his popularity.
He provided theory and practice for resistance, but more important he led by
example. He was a total force in that regard; perhaps even a movement.
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp