Foucault News

News and resources on French thinker Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

Echo Delay Reverb. American Art, Francophone Thought

Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
from 10/22/2025 to 02/15/2026

The group exhibition “ECHO DELAY REVERB: American Art, Francophone Thought” explores the history of the transatlantic circulation of forms and ideas through the works of some sixty artists, bringing together a wide variety of mediums and a number of new commissions.

It presents how art in the USA catalysed the revolutionary energies of thinkers, activists and poets who transcended genres and profoundly reshaped perspectives on the world, from Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida to Frantz Fanon, Jean Genet, Aimé Césaire, Jacques Lacan, Monique Wittig, Pierre Bourdieu and Edouard Glissant… The reception and translation of their work in the United States led to unexpected forms, creating tools for a critical vision of institutions, both those of art and those of society. Theory here serves as an instrument for challenging social, aesthetic and linguistic norms, opening up new ways of seeing and engaging in the world.

[…]

A book, Echo Delay Reverb : American Art, French Thought, edited by Naomi Beckwith with Elvan Zabunyan, professor of contemporary art history at Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne, and published by Editions B42, accompanies the exhibition.

Throughout the 20th century, thinkers, activists and poets in the French-speaking world transgressed genres and changed perspectives on the contemporary world. However, beyond and sometimes before their recognition in France, their ideas were translated in the United States and used to create tools for a critical view of institutions, art and society, challenging social, aesthetic and linguistic norms and opening up new ways of seeing and acting. While the flagship concept of French Theory was defined in the 1990s to evoke the enthusiastic reception that the United States reserved for authors such as Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida, other figures, such as Suzanne and Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Maryse Condé, Édouard Glissant and Monique Wittig, have been instrumental in the fields of art, postcolonial studies, feminism and gender studies. This book traces the history of the circulation of ideas, their resonance and appropriation by several generations of artists across the Atlantic, extending the eponymous exhibition conceived by Naomi Beckwith at the Palais de Tokyo.

Review of exhibition in Art Review by Louise Darblay, 21 November 2025

Maya Krishnan, (2025) “Over-intelligibility”, Political Philosophy 2(2).
doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/pp.24931

Abstract
Contemporary philosophers have argued that framing new concepts can bring about both moral and epistemic progress. In this paper, I argue that such intelligibility also has downsides. This paper introduces the phenomenon of ‘over-intelligibility,’ which obtains when a concept truly applies and facilitates understanding, yet hinders someone as a knower. This takes place when concepts normalize or detrimentally standardize our epistemic lives.

Keywords:
hermeneutic injustice, epistemic injustice, intelligibility

Do not ask who I am and do not ask me to remain the same: leave it to our bureaucrats and our police to see that our papers are in order.

—Michel Foucault

If I knew who or what I were, I would not write….

—Gillian Rose

Foucault Studies, Issue 38, Fall 2025

Open access

Table of Contents

Editorial

Foucault’s Revision of Ideology Critique
Johanna Oksala

Waging War, Waging Peace: The Weimar Right and Michel Foucault’s Analysis of Power in the Mirror of the Archives
Philipp Kender

Genealogy Between Health and Illness: On the Ambiguity of the Historical Sense in Foucault’s 1969–1970 Vincennes Lectures on Nietzsche
Federico Testa

The Hidden Asceticism of Knowledge: Rereading The Gay Science Genealogically with Nietzsche and Foucault
Emmanuel Salanskis

Truth, Asceticism, and Becoming: Foucault with and against Nietzsche
Daniele Lorenzini

Nietzsche, Knowledge, and Interest
Frédéric Porcher

“The Awful Difficulties of a Theory of the Will”: Foucault’s Nietzschean Critique of Ideology
Orazio Irrera

Foucault at Buffalo in 1970 and 1972: The Desire for Knowledge, The Criminal in Literature, and The History of Truth
Stuart Elden

“The History of Truth”: Foucault in Buffalo, 1972
Leonhard Riep

Ordoliberalism, State and Society: A Political Theory of Social Order by Olimpia Malatesta (review)
Andrea Di Carlo

Philosophy, Theory or Way of Life? Controversies in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Juliusz Domański (review)
Antonio Donato

Foucault’s Critical Philosophy of History: Unfolding the Present by Adam Takács (review)
Matt Kelley

The Biopolitics of Punishment: Derrida and Foucault by Rick Elmore and Ege Selin Islekel (review)
Aditya Pratama

Democratic Biopolitics: Popular Sovereignty and The Power of Life by Sergei Prozorov (review)
Roqiyul Maarif Syam

Emmanuel Chamorro Sánchez, Foucault, el poder y la política, de mayo del 68 al ascenso del neoliberalismo, Editorial Universidad de Granada (EUG), 2025

Este libro tiene como objetivo reconstruir el itinerario intelectual, político y biográfico de Michel Foucault desde 1968 hasta 1979. Comienza con los acontecimientos del Mayo francés —que alcanzaron a Foucault en plena revolución tunecina y se cierra con la victoria de Margaret Thatcher y el inicio de la consolidación global del neoliberalismo. En esa larga década que condensa las aspiraciones, victorias y derrotas de los movimientos revolucionarios del siglo XX, destaca la figura de un pensador difícilmente clasificable pero cuya trayectoria acompaña los vaivenes de su generación. Del anarquismo al antitotalitarismo, de la heterodoxia marxista a la condena del socialismo y de la insurrección a la reivindicación del derecho de los gobernados, el presente trabajo sitúa el pensamiento de Foucault en el heterogéneo conjunto de experiencias y discursos de su época para comprender mejor tanto su apuesta filosófica como aquel mundo que dio forma al nuestro.

Abstract
This book aims to reconstruct Michel Foucault’s intellectual, political, and biographical path from 1968 to 1979. It starts with the events of May 1968 in France and ends with Margaret Thatcher’s victory and the beginning of the global consolidation of neoliberalism. This long decade, which captures the aspirations, victories, and defeats of the revolutionary movements of the 20th century, highlights the figure of a hardly classifiable thinker whose career follows the vicissitudes of his generation. From anarchism to anti-totalitarianism, from Marxist heterodoxy to the condemnation of socialism, and from insurrection to the vindication of the rights of the governed, this work places Foucault’s thinking within the heterogeneous range of experiences and discourses of his time in order to provide a better understanding of both his philosophical approach and the world that shaped ours.

Jean Allouch, Entre Lacan et Foucault 1983-2022, Epel Éditions, 2025

« La position de la psychanalyse, dis-je, sera foucaldienne, ou la psychanalyse ne sera plus. D’ailleurs, nous allons le voir, ça a toujours été le cas », déclare Jean Allouch en 1998 dans la première de ses « Érotologies analytiques » (La Psychanalyse : une érotologie de passage). Dès 1983, c’est en faisant cas de la conférence de Michel Foucault en 1969 « Qu’est-ce qu’un auteur ? » qu’il examine les versions successives du « retour à Freud » prôné par Jacques Lacan.

La psychanalyse est-elle un exercice spirituel ? fut en 2007 une Réponse à la question posée par Foucault sur le tranchant de la psychanalyse. Plus d’une vingtaine de textes que l’on trouvera ici (conférences, articles, entretiens) ont précédé et ont suivi, engageant un dialogue entre Jacques Lacan et Michel Foucault. Ce questionnement sur leurs points de convergence et leurs motifs de divergence s’est poursuivi jusque dans le livre posthume de Jean Allouch (Vitalité du neutre, neutralité du vital, 2024).

Le frayage de Jean Allouch dans le champ freudien s’est distingué notamment par quatre ouvrages majeurs : Lettre pour lettre (1984), Marguerite, ou l’Aimée de Lacan (1990), Érotique du deuil au temps de la mort sèche (1995) et L’Amour Lacan (2009). Non moins décisif, ce manifeste : Freud, et puis Lacan (1993).

Jan 20, 2025, Theoretical Puppets: O is for Outside (Michel Foucault)

Jean-Marie Durand, De Deleuze à Foucault, la “French Theory” illustrée dans un magistral essai graphique, Les Inrockuptibles, 28 octobre 2025

French Theory, itinéraires d’une pensée rebelle de François Cusset, Thomas Daquin (La Découverte, Delcourt, 2025)

Avec “French Theory, itinéraires d’une pensée rebelle”, François Cusset et Thomas Daquin rendent accessibles les concepts-clé de la french theory, aujourd’hui attaqués par l’internationale réactionnaire.

Il y a plus de vingt ans, un jeune historien des idées, François Cusset, publiait un essai qui allait devenir un classique tant il éclairait un élan décisif du champ philosophique français contemporain : French Theory. L’auteur y expliquait la manière dont des philosophes français vaguement négligés chez eux (Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault, Barthes…) étaient devenus des icônes sur les campus américains.

[…]

Le nouvel essai graphique de François Cusset et Thomas Daquin, French Theory, itinéraires d’une pensée rebelle, démarre en rappelant qu’un colloque organisé en 2022 à la Sorbonne par l’ex-ministre Jean-Michel Blanquer, titré “Après la déconstruction : reconstruire les sciences et la culture”, visait directement les penseurs français accusés d’avoir nourri le wokisme ou le racialisme. “Nous avons inoculé le virus, nous devons fournir le vaccin”, osa affirmer Blanquer, à la mesure de tous les réactionnaires du moment, qui désignent Foucault ou Deleuze comme les voix de la décadence française.

François Cusset, Thomas Daquin, French Theory, itinéraires d’une pensée rebelle (La Découverte, Delcourt, 2025)

On connaissait la French Pop , mais connaissez-vous la French Theory ? Comment Deleuze, Foucault, Derrida… sont devenus des stars aux USA et comment leurs théories, sur la déconstruction, le genre, les inégalités ont façonné le débat contemporain.
Entre wokistes et réacs, le débat fait rage. La promesse de ce livre : nous ouvrir grand les yeux, de façon ludique, sur Foucault, Derrida ou Baudrillard et l’aventure de leur singulière théorie, aux USA et au-delà… Les penseurs de la déconstruction, du genre ou du racisme, sont devenus des stars américaines et ont révolutionné nos façons de voir le monde.

Thakur, S. Environmental crises as crises of representation: Community rights and natural resource (Mis) management in India. Jindal Global Law Review 16, 357–386 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41020-025-00273-3

Abstract
If one has to look for the origin to diffusing environmental crises, one must look in the forests and the usurpation of its governance from communities by the developmental state. This paper undertakes an interdisciplinary examination of the nexus between environmental crises, representation, community rights, and natural resource management in India, specifically focusing on the marginalisation of forest dwellers. Drawing insights from subaltern studies and postcolonial theory, the analysis centres on three pivotal moments within the legal framework on forest governance, namely, the enactment of the Forest Rights Act 1972, the Niyamgiri Hills movement and the subsequent court decision, and the 2019 Supreme Court eviction order of forest dwellers from forest land. Through a critical examination of these case studies, the paper argues that environmental crises in India are fundamentally crises of representation, perpetuated by hegemonic structures that marginalise tribal and local voices and interests. The theoretical framework encompasses the works of Antonio Gramsci, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Foucault, among others. This framework can help examine how dominant narratives and power structures shape environmental policies and resource management practices, often to the detriment of the forest-dwelling communities.

Keywords
Forest Rights Act, Adivasi, Forest dwellers, Representation, Traditional knowledge, Natural resource management

Call for papers
XIV MICHEL FOUCAULT INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM: 50 YEARS OF THE HISTORY OF SEXUALITY
May 26 to 29, 2026
Federal University of Bahia, in Salvador, Brazil.
Instagram
contact: foucaultnabahia@gmail.com
_______________________________________________________________________
CALL FOR PAPERS AND REGISTRATION OF APPLICANTS: ORAL COMMUNICATIONS IN THEMATIC SYMPOSIUMS AND PANELS

1. OVERVIEW
The XIV Michel Foucault International Colloquium: 50 Years of the History of Sexuality will be held in person from May 26 to 29, 2026, at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.

The Organizing Committee invites submissions of proposals for Oral Communications in Thematic Symposiums (TSs) and for Panel Exhibition Sessions, under the terms described below.

• Thematic Symposiums (TSs) will take place in the afternoons of May 26–28, 2026.
• Panels will be on display from May 26 to 28, with presentation sessions scheduled within this period.

General information:
a. The submission period for Oral Communication and Panel proposals will begin on September 5, 2025, and close on November 30, 2025. Deadlines will not be extended.
b. Proposals will be evaluated by the Scientific Committee.
c. Up to 80 presentations in TSs and 60 panels will be selected.
d. Results will be published on Instagram and on the event website by December 31, 2025.

2. ABOUT THE THEMATIC SYMPOSIUMS (TSs)

a. Eligible applicants for Oral Communication proposals in TSs include:
1. PhDs from Brazil and abroad;
2. PhD students from Brazil and abroad;
3. Professors from higher education institutions in Brazil and abroad;
4. Master’s students, in co-authorship with PhDs or professors from higher education institutions.

Important: Each Oral Communication proposal may have up to three authors.

b. Applicants may submit a proposal to only one TS.

c. Oral Communication proposals must:
i. Relate to one of the themes described in this Call;
ii. Follow the formatting guidelines in this document;
iii. Be submitted through the form available on the event website, under the ENGLISH menu.

d. Abstracts must include:
• Title (in uppercase) and subtitle (if any, in lowercase);
• Name(s) of the proposer(s), academic background, and institutional affiliation (if applicable);
• Contact email;
• Abstract text (150–300 words), including at least the objective of the work and discussion topics;
• 3–5 keywords (capitalized and separated by periods).

e. The list of accepted papers will be published on the website and Instagram page by December 20, 2025.

f. Each accepted paper will be allotted 15 minutes for presentation, followed by discussion.

g. All accepted abstracts will be included in the event’s Abstract Book.

h. Abstracts will be accepted in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and English.

i. The Colloquium will feature three Thematic Symposiums, organized around the following thematic axes:
Axis 1: Subjection and Insurrection
Race; Gender; Body; Heterotopias; Erotica; Neoliberalism; Governmentality; Madness; The psi field; Criminality.
Axis 2: Toolbox, Foucauldian Field of Action, and Readings
Interlocutors and/or authors read by Foucault (e.g., Marx, Kant, Nietzsche, Deleuze); Foucauldian readings and areas of research (e.g., Arts, Education, Teaching, History, Law, Literature, Languages).
Axis 3: Stories and Events
Foucault’s historical analyses and tools: Archaeology; Genealogy; Epistemes; Experiences; Antiquity; Christianity; Modernity.

j. Proposals that do not comply with the rules and guidelines of the TSs will not be evaluated.

3. ABOUT THE PANELS
a. The panel format is intended for individuals with undergraduate or graduate student status.

b. Each panel may have a maximum of three authors and must fit into one of the three thematic axes:
Theme 1: Subjection and Insurrection
Race; Gender; Body; Heterotopias; Erotica; Neoliberalism; Governmentality; Madness; The psi field; Criminality.
Theme 2: Toolbox, Foucauldian Field of Action, and Readings
Interlocutors and/or authors read by Foucault (e.g., Marx, Kant, Nietzsche, Deleuze); Foucauldian readings and areas of research (e.g., Arts, Education, Teaching, History, Law, Literature, Languages).
Theme 3: Stories and Events
Foucault’s historical analyses and tools: Archaeology; Genealogy; Epistemes; Experiences; Antiquity; Christianity; Modernity.

c. Each panel must include a supervising professor from a higher education institution with a minimum qualification of PhD.

d. Each author may submit only one panel proposal.

e. Before submitting a proposal, panel authors must register on the event website, under the ENGLISH menu. Important: In the case of works with multiple authors, all authors must register, but only one should submit the proposal.

f. The submission period for panel proposals is from September 5, 2025, to November 10, 2025.

g. Abstracts must include:
• Title (in uppercase);
• Names of the proponents;
• Abstract text (150–300 words), including at least the objective of the work and discussion topics;
• 3–5 keywords (capitalized and separated by periods).

h. Authors and advisors are responsible for preparing the panels for display during the event.

i. For questions, please contact: foucaultnabahia@gmail.com