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Abnormal: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1974-1975

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If you are familiar with Foucault, then saying that "Abnormal" is in many ways a continuation of "Discipline and Punish" should be enough.

"Abnormal" deals with how social constructs are invented through historical process (in this case, the "monster.") What is crime? What is normalcy? What is beyond the pale? How are these things decided/invented? It's heavy stuff but very interesting (especially if you have any interest in law, criminology, or sociology).

If you have never read Foucault, then don't start with this work. Foucault is a difficult read (although not as bad as Derrida or Habermas) and "Abnormal" is for the student/reader who is already familiar with his philosophy. "Discipline and Punish" is probably a better place to start.

Do read this book, however, whether it be now or later. I don't think it an exaggeration to say that Foucault is one of the most important thinkers since Marx. Foucault is the wellspring of Postmodernism and worth the effort.

Foucault's 1974-1975 lecture series on abnormality is a typically brilliant assessment of the historical configuration of three figures, namely, the monster, the criminal/individual to be corrected, and the onanist. This is a remarkable achievement of empirical research; Foucault has filled in the gaps between the brilliant concepts developed through 'The History of Madness,' to 'Discipline and Punish,' and has provided the historical details to his archeological project. This particular series of lectures traces the complex interstices between criminality, abnormality and sexuality and provides a clean analysis of the grid of power relations immanent in these respective domains. Foucault's analysis of the medicalization/psychiatrization of crime is particularly brilliant, and I found his linkage with modern psychiatry to modern racism to be a truly original insight-though I would have liked to see further analysis of the latter connection. There is much room for future theorists in the social sciences and humanities here-Foucault's historical tool box is a rich one, and his attention to fine historical specificities continues to impress.