After Foucault : humanistic knowledge, postmodern challenges /

In nine excellent essays, most never before published, the contributors address the importance of Foucault's work for research in a wide range of humanistic disciplines: literature, philosophy, history, political theory. Together they provide good examples of how Foucault can be used both within and against more traditional disciplinary research. Among the highlights are E. Said's summary of the range of Foucault's writings; D. Hoy's discussion of Foucault's importance in the debate between modernism/postmodernism; two essays on the relations between Foucault and feminism (I. Balbus and J. Sawicki); a blending of Foucault and Bakhtin in an effort to understand the "otherness" of recent Japanese philosophy (H.D. Harootunian); the function of parody in Foucault (D. O'Hara); and the problems raised in Foucault's work for and by political theory and practice (S. Wolin). Unlike Foucault: A Critical Reader, ed. by D. Hoy (CH, Mar '87) or Towards a Critique of Foucault, ed. by M. Gane (CH, Jun '87), this collection does not restrict itself to commentary or criticism. Contributors show the challenges posed by his thought for research in several different domains. Accessible to advanced undergraduates and above. Highly recommended for all undergraduate and graduate libraries with holdings in recent French theory. A. D. Schrift Grinnell College