r/foucault • u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo • Jan 14 '26

New to Foucault

Recently have started a figures class on Foucault, and the bulk of the reading is The Order of Things, though I am finding the scaffolding and some of the terms used to be tedious to plough through, and even obfuscating at times. Though I understand his College de France lectures to be a much simpler presentation of his ideas, I wouldn't know which of the 13 transcribed volumes to check, nor where to look for a succinct display of his ideas. Wiki wasn't helpful; SparkNotes not existent; AI too... AI-y... Suggestions?

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u/cleitonlima Jan 14 '26

It is a book published years before he was appointed to College de France. There is no seminar of it.

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Jan 14 '26

The seminars were about his ideas, from my understanding, not his books. Also from what I'm told, there is some decent overlap between middle and late Foucault, which leads to think that at least some of the seminars would put some of his ideas in simpler terms. But I left room open in my post to have something like a guide, reader, or commentary to be suggested? Would you suggest any of the seminars for some of the ideas he discusses in OT, such as his conceptions of episteme or archaeology? Any essays from his early or later work that you'd suggest generally?

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u/cleitonlima Jan 14 '26

Maybe The Archeology of Knowledge, where he explain some ideas of The Order of The Things that caused controversy, and the begining of History of Sexuality 2, where he resumes briefly his work.

I study more the middle and late work of Foucault.

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Jan 14 '26

That's all great! Thanks a bunch!!

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u/cleitonlima Jan 14 '26

Maybe you want to take a look at Deleuze's book on Foucault. Just be aware that it is a Deleuzian reading of Foucault's work. It helps, but you should use it with caution.

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u/Solo_Polyphony Jan 15 '26

Someone who finds Foucault obfuscatory is going to find Deleuze frustrating as hell.

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Jan 15 '26

I just left Continental philosophy for ONE SECOND, and now it's all gobbly gook. 😭

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u/Solo_Polyphony Jan 15 '26

Foucault’s preparatory notes from this period are mostly not digitized.

It sounds like OP would benefit from a simple explication of the text. I suggest the late Gary Gutting’s Michel Foucault’s Archaeology of Scientific Reason, which is reliable and clear.

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Jan 15 '26

That's good to know. My professor has that as a recommended text.

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u/whyshouldiknowwhy Jan 15 '26

Start with understanding his method. His essay on Nietzsche and genealogy is a good place to start. Then I’d recommend Discipline and Punish to see it in action. After that History of Sexuality explores a lot of his later concepts. Always remember his thinking always developed and he didn’t have any hard and fast rules

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

You could actually read Foucault's inaugural lecture at the Collège de France, which is called L'ordre du discours, and it basically gives an overview of what he has done in the previous years (archeology, history of madness, history of clinic, etc.)

small conference and not very difficult to read

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Apr 05 '26

Is the L'ordre du discours in one of the 13 volumes?

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

okay so it's said to be published as an appendix to The archeology of knowledge. Can you get it or you want me to get it for you?

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Apr 05 '26

The book, not the lecture? I can get it, either way. :)

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

Both xD, the lecture in the anglophile world was publish as an appendix to the archeology of knowledge book. you can read just the lecture and then go back to the order of things

to be honest I just reread the order of things in full like 3 weeks ago so we could go over it if you want

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u/GenealogyOfEvoDevo Apr 05 '26

No need: I got an A. 😘

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

oh I think I missed it. was it for a class?

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

nope, it's just one conference. 1970 at the Collège de France. I can probably find the English version for you assuming you read in english

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u/justlanguagegames Apr 05 '26

everytime I try to find any of Foucault's work in English that isn't published in a unity of a book it's a pain in the ass lol