Critical And Effective Histories: Foucault's Methods and Historical Sociology [Paperback]

Mitchell Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0415064953 | ISBN-13: 978-0415064958 | Edition: 1

This book places Foucault's methodologies against central currents in social theory and philosophy in order to provide a guide to doing historical sociology in particular and social sciences more generally. It is written for several reasons. First, it seeks to make Foucault's contribution comprehensible to a wide range of professional and non-professional readers. Second, it rescues the originality and usefulness of Foucault's work, and his critical project from both the welter of ill-informed criticism and the obfuscation of sympathetic commentators. Third, it embodies a conviction that Foucault's approaches could inform the metamorphosis of sociology into an effective, open-ended, multi-focused, relevant discipline, capable of problematising the grand frameworks and assumptions of earlier social theory. Finally, it demonstrates that Foucault's methods provide the necessary condition for any state-of-the-art social research today. The book thus addresses the many formulations of Foucault's methodological position and seeks to establish its relation to such figures as Nietzsche, Kant, Weber, Elias, Habermas, Giddens and the Annales and Frankfurt Schools. Futhermore, it explores the itnerconnected substantive themes of Foucault's work: truth, knowledge and rationality; power, domination and government; and the self and ethical practice. The book is less a commentary on Foucault than a use of Foucault's methods to chart an original position on the condition of social science today. It is directed not only to readers interested in Foucault's legacy but to any social scientis or student working at the cutting edge of contemporary research and to the non-professional audience concerned with the central, ethical, political, and theoretical problems of our time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a thoughtful critique of sociology, history and philosophy which thankfully avoids the more obvious and repetitive lines of Foucauldian commentary.' - Radical Philosophy

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (May 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415064953
• ISBN-13: 978-0415064958
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,019,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible reading, September 5, 2008

By 

Foucault Fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critical And Effective Histories: Foucault's Methods and Historical Sociology (Paperback)

For anyone interested in how Foucault's methods were developed or employed, this book is a must read. While often dense (the author could have easily made his arguments using more accessible language), the book follows Foucault's relationship to a number of philosophical movements upon which he himself commented (Kant, Weber, the Frankfurt School), but does so in a way that convincingly and effectively delineates where Foucault differs (and in turn why his methods are so important to philosophy). Taken together with his essays "Nietzsche, history, genealogy" and "What is enlightenment?", as well as Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of Morals", this book is an indispensable guide to Foucault's methods.