Michel Foucault: Key Concepts

Book Details:

• Author: Dianna Taylor

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Language: English

• Edition: 2022

• ISBN: 9788131604786

• Pages: 208

• Cover: Hardcover

• Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches

About the Book

Michel Foucault: Key Concepts is an essential guide for understanding the influential ideas of one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. Dianna Taylor curates a set of insightful essays that unpack Foucault’s complex theories of power, freedom, and subjectivity, making them accessible across disciplines like philosophy, politics, sociology, psychology, criminology, and anthropology.

The book delves into Foucault’s most central concepts—disciplinary power, biopower, power/knowledge, spirituality, and practices of the self—highlighting their relevance and interconnections. Each essay analyses a key theme and explores its application across Foucault’s works, equipping students and scholars with a strong conceptual toolkit for deeper academic inquiry.

Whether you are a student of the social sciences or a general reader interested in modern thought, this book serves as a comprehensive introduction and a practical reference to Foucault’s philosophical legacy.

Contents:

Introduction:

• Power, Freedom and Subjectivity – Dianna Taylor

Part I: Power

1. Foucault’s Theory of Power – Richard A. Lynch

2. Disciplinary Power – Marcelo Hoffman

3. Biopower – Chloë Taylor

4. Power/Knowledge – Ellen K. Feder

Part II: Freedom
5. Foucault’s Conception of Freedom – Todd May
6. Freedom and Bodies – Johanna Oksala
7. The Practice of Freedom – Eduardo Mendieta

Part III: Subjectivity
8. Foucault’s Theory and Practice of Subjectivity – Edward McGushin
9. Subjectivity and Truth – Brad Elliott Stone
10. Subjectivity and Power – Cressida J. Heyes
11. Practices of the Self – Dianna Taylor

Additional:

• Chronology of Foucault's Work

About the Author

Dianna Taylor is Associate Professor of Philosophy at John Carroll University, Ohio. She is a renowned scholar in contemporary continental philosophy and an expert on Michel Foucault’s thought.