After Foucault: Culture, Theory, and Criticism in the 21st Century

Description

The work of Michel Foucault is much read, widely cited, and occasionally misunderstood. In response to this state of affairs, this collection aims to clarify, to contextualize, and to contribute to Foucauldian scholarship in a very specific way. Rather than offering either a conceptual introduction to Foucault's work, or a series of interventions aimed specifically at experts, After Foucault explores his critical afterlives, situates his work in current debates, and explains his intellectual legacy. As well as offering up-to-date assessments of Foucault's ongoing use in fields such as literary studies, sexuality studies, and history, chapters explore his relevance for urgent and emerging disciplines and debates, including ecology, animal studies, and the analysis of neoliberalism. Written in an accessible style, by leading experts, After Foucault demonstrates a commitment to taking seriously the work of a key twentieth-century thinker for contemporary academic disciplines, political phenomena, and cultural life.

Lisa Downing is an internationally renowned specialist of history and theories of sexuality, who is currently Professor of French Discourses of Sexuality at the University of Birmingham. She is author, co-author, and editor of scores of publications, including The Cambridge Introduction to Michel Foucault (Cambridge, 2008). In 2009, her interdisciplinary work was recognized by the award of the prestigious Phillip Leverhulme Prize (for outstanding scholars under the age of 36). Her publications on gender, sexuality, murder, and perversion have attracted considerable media interest. She appeared most recently on BBC Radio 4's 'Thinking Aloud'.