
History / Power
Michel Foucault
1926–1984
“Power is not held but exercised through networks.”
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist. His theories addressed the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. His work has influenced scholars in many disciplines.
Contribution
Power/knowledge, governmentality, biopolitics
Key Works
- • Discipline and Punish
- • The History of Sexuality
- • Madness and Civilization
- • The Order of Things