A Macat Analysis of Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality: Volume 1: The Will to Knowledge

Written by Chiara Briganti and Rachele Dini

Narrated by Macat.com

Michel Foucault had already written extensively about medicine, madness, and prisons. But in the latter days of his career he turned to the subject of sexuality, planning six volumes on the subject. He completed three before dying of an AIDS-related illness in 1984. Foucault’s History of Sexuality Vol. 1 is a study of the evolution of cultural ideas about sex in the West since the end of the seventeenth century. Volume 2 looked at attitudes toward sex in ancient Greece; Volume 3 investigated sex in ancient Rome. Like Foucault’s earlier works, The History of Sexuality Vol. 1 was groundbreaking and controversial. He challenged the accepted idea that the rise of modernity and capitalism led to moves to repress talk about sex. On the contrary, according to Foucault, sex became the object of scientific study and sexual practices were labeled either “normal” or “deviant.” Governments passed laws regulating sexual practices, thereby strengthening control over their citizens. Foucault claims sexuality is not so much the result of biological instincts as it is a social concept. He has since become a key influence in gender and gay studies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macat
• Release date: Jul 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781912284511

Reviews for A Macat Analysis of Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality

[Manfred Purkarthofer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very Very interesting book.
I did not know anything about this topic.
Thanks :)

[G A McKee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This audiobook was most useful in gaining an understanding of the origins of Critical Theory and its offshoots such as Queer Theory, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies and so on and so forth. . in other words an understanding of all this nonsense that is being used by the LGBT social justice warriors and academic political activists to radically change our way of thinking to their way of thinking about so-called sexuality. I became interested in discovering more about Foucault - the man and his ideas - after listening to another Scribd audiobook called ‘Cynical Theory’ by authors Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay