Speech Begins after Death

Description

In this brief and lively exchange, Foucault reflects on how he approached the written word throughout his life, from his school days to his discovery of the pleasure of writing. Wide ranging, characteristically insightful, and unexpectedly autobiographical, the discussion is revelatory of Foucault's intellectual development, his aims as a writer, his clinical methodology and his interest in other writers.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a French historian and philosopher associated with the structuralist and poststructuralist movements. He is often considered the most influential social theorist of the second half of the twentieth century, not only in philosophy but in a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Among his most notable books are Madness and Civilization, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality. Philippe Artieres is director of research at the CNRS and president of the Centre Michel Foucault. Robert Bononno is an award-winning translator of literary and cultural books. His recent translations include Toward an Architecture of Enjoyment, by Henri Lefebvre (Minnesota, 2014), and Language, Madness, and Desire by Michel Foucault (Minnesota, 2015).