The Passion of Michel Foucault

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The Passion of Michel Foucault
Cover of the first edition
AuthorJames Miller
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMichel Foucault
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
1993
Media typePrint (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages491
ISBN978-0671695507

The Passion of Michel Foucault is a biography of the French philosopher Michel Foucault authored by the American philosopher James Miller. It was first published in the United States by Simon & Schuster in 1993.

Within the book, Miller made the claim that Foucault's experiences in the gay sadomasochism community during the time he taught at Berkeley directly influenced his political and philosophical works.[1] Miller's ideas have been rebuked by certain Foucault scholars as being either simply misdirected,[2] a sordid reading of his life and works,[3][4] or as a politically motivated, intentional misreading.[5][6]

Reception[edit]

Writing for The Boston Globe, book critic George Scialabba described The Passion of Michel Foucault as an "intensely interesting" work which provides an "astoundingly vivid though non-prurient description of (mainly homosexual) sadomasochism".[2] The historian of science Roger Smith writes that Miller turns Foucault's life "into a drama for our times".[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Miller 1993.
  2. ^ a b Scialabba, George. Review: "The Passion of Michel Foucault by James Miller." Boston Globe, 30 January 1993.
  3. ^ Rubenstein, Diane 1995 Modern Fiction Studies 41.3–4 681–698
  4. ^ Williams, James S. The French Review March 1997, Vol. 70, No. 4 pp. 604–605
  5. ^ Foucault, Michel (1999-08-15). Carrette, Jeremy R. Religion and culture By Michel Foucault. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719054679. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  6. ^ Halperin, David M. (1997-04-10). Halperin, David M. Saint Foucault: towards a gay hagiography. Oup USA. ISBN 9780195111279. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  7. ^ Smith, Roger (1997). The Norton History of the Human Sciences. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 1006–7. ISBN 0-393-31733-1.

Bibliography[edit]