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The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction (Paperback)

by Michel Foucault (Author) "For a long time, the story goes, we supported a Victorian regime, and we continue to be dominated by it even today..." (more)
Key Phrases: scientia sexualis, repressive hypothesis, ars erotica, The History of Sexuality, The Repressive Hypothesis, Other Victorians (more...)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"The Care of the Self shares with the writings on which it draws the characteristic of being carefully constructed, exquisitely reasoned and internally cogent." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Foucault is a thinker from whose writing one can infer lessons for our modern lives and dilemmas."-- Boston Globe -- Review

Review
"The Care of the Self shares with the writings on which it draws the characteristic of being carefully constructed, exquisitely reasoned and internally cogent." -- The New York Times Book Review

"Foucault is a thinker from whose writing one can infer lessons for our modern lives and dilemmas."-- Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Vintage (April 14, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679724699
ISBN-13: 978-0679724698
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,899 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#2 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Nonfiction > Philosophy
#31 in Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Consciousness & Thought
#35 in Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Modern

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
For a long time, the story goes, we supported a Victorian regime, and we continue to be dominated by it even today. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
scientia sexualis, repressive hypothesis, ars erotica, labor capacity

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The History of Sexuality, The Repressive Hypothesis, Other Victorians, New York, Middle Ages

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 10 books:

The Birth of the Clinic (Routledge Classics) by Michel Foucault in Front Matter, and Back Matter
The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception by Michel Foucault in Front Matter, and Back Matter
The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences by Michel Foucault in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Madness and Civilization (Routledge Classics) by Michel Foucault in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault in Front Matter

See all 10 books this book cites

100 books cite this book:

Foucault: A Critical Introduction (Key Contemporary Thinkers) by Lois McNay on 6 pages
Approximate Bodies Gender and Power in Early Modern Drama and Anatomy by Maurizio Calbi on 5 pages
Now Dare Everything: Tales of HIV-Related Psychotherapy (Haworth Social Work Practice) by Steven F Dansky on 4 pages
Self Love and Christian Ethics (New Studies in Christian Ethics) by Darlene Fozard Weaver on page 7, page 97, and Back Matter
Erotic Politics : The Dynamics of Desire on the English Renaissance Stage by S. Zimmerman on page 148, page 187, and Back Matter

See all 100 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Knowledge and Postmodernism in Historical Perspective by Joyce Appleby

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Idleness Working by Gregory M. Sadlek

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	90% buy the item featured on this page: The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction 3.7 out of 5 stars (30) $10.15
	4% buy Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison 4.0 out of 5 stars (43) $10.17
	2% buy Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics) 3.4 out of 5 stars (24) $14.93
	2% buy The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure 4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $10.17

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews

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4 star:		(6)
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3.7 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our time, November 1, 1999

By	Neal Stanifer (Bakersfield, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Foucault's three-part History of Sexuality begins here with an examination of the ways in which our contemporary interpretation of sexuality has been shaped by historical trends. Foucault makes a compelling case for the construction of sexual identity as a function of political and economic forces. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in sexuality, psychoanalysis, gender studies, queer theory, or feminisms, or indeed anyone who wishes to confront his or her own personal assumptions about gender and sexuality. Think you know what normal is? After Foucault, you may not be so sure. (One more thing: while this book is a fascinating read which can stand alone, I strongly advise anyone interested in this subject to go on to read the second and third volumes)

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62 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misinterpretation by Reviewers, October 11, 2003

By	Daniel A. Soler "BeyondFoucault" (Fresh Meadows (New York), New York United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This text is perhaps Foucault's most well-known, although it might not be his best. It is an important work, so if you are at all interested in sex as an abstract and organizing principle, this is a must-read. (Note: it is not a history in the proper sense of the term). While not a terribly confusing book, it is WIDELY misunderstood, including by many of the reviewers. First off, do not make the mistake of reading the first section as Foucault's thesis (it may seem that way)--he is presenting the common approach to the issue, one that he will eventually CHALLENGE. "Sex" was never repressed--on the contrary, there has been an explosion of discourses, a productive manifestation of power. Foucault admits that this was partially organized through technologies of confession, normalization, etc.-BUT THAT IS NOT THE MAIN THRUST. The main idea of the text is that there is no commanding, Platonic principle "sex" that we must uncover or saturate ourselves with, and hence, while prudery seems suspect, liberation through "sex" or "sex-desire" is entirely nonsensical, since sex is subordinate to sexuality and not vica-versa. Foucault, with much uncertainty, thereby envisions a different economy of bodies and pleasures, more like the ars erotica, that focuses on the local and individual, with all their multiple possibilities for deeper value and communication. Hence, depite what people make of Foucault's life, this book is more "conservative" that one would imagine... It is ideal for anyone who wants to free themselves from either a deep-rooted fear of sex or the incessant demands sex makes from on high (from the media, etc.) To Foucault, the idea that sex is seen as a requirement for one's deepest sense of being is absurd (and almost comical). A fascinating exploration which you might have to read twice, the History of Sexuality demonstrates Foucault's otherwordly insight. Do not fall into the traps I mentioned--Foucault's purpose here is not to free sex from all controls, but merely from one in particular--the reader is given the freedom to reflect and counter it with a more positive and meaningful grasp of his own sexuality and sexual experience.

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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Foucault at work..., January 10, 2004

By	Giovanni Mantilla (Bogota, Colombia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book can be seen as a perfect example of a brilliant mind at work. Foucault surely considered this book as an introductory piece, a draft of brilliantly posed ideas and problems about sexuality as a dispositive, not in the traditional sense of the word that we have all become so acquainted with. This book works in many respects: Foucault succesfully makes his case for an open refusal of the "repressive hypothesis", explaining in a very precise manner why the discourse on sexuality in the XVIII and XIX centuries, far from being shy about it, positively promoted discussion... what he calls a "discoursive explosion". Foucault quite brilliantly introduces the two ways in which sexuality has come to be assumed by the human race: as an art (in ancient Greece) and as a science (in our present era). He also develops his own ideas (ideas that also appear in his courses at the Coll�ge de France, particularly "Society Must Be Defended") about bio-power, disciplinary societies and biopolitical regimes. He successfully questions the fact that we have come to place sex under a veil of secrecy which must be undone... how sex has become the key to our personality, our "identity".

The last verses of the book are revealing: how is it that we still consider sex to be liberating when in reality we are always under its gaze, when it really has become a burden to be dealt with?

This book is astounding. Maybe not as brilliant as "Discipline and Punish" (which says a LOT about Foucault's creative nature)but certainly a key text toward understanding the problems Foucault tackled in final years of his life.

Note: the last two volumes of the History of Sexuality display a shift of focus and a leap back in "history"... you'll have to read the introduction to volume 2, "The Use Of Pleasure", to see what I mean. Still, it all makes sense if you dig deeper into the final developments of Foucault's work.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars The History of Sexuality an Introduction by Michael Foucault
"The History of Sexuality" by Michael Foucault was a very good book. It is a very confusing book. I was assigned this book for my LGBT studies book in college and it was even... Read more

Published 2 months ago by B. VanBergen

3.0 out of 5 stars Foucault - the smart kid who doesn't do homework
More like a 3.5 if that was an option. Part of me hates rating this book so low, but I really have to. Here's why. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mike

2.0 out of 5 stars Foucault's Pendulum of Human Sexuality
In "the History of Sexuality", Foucault tried to use Nietzsche's genealogical approach that views concepts as changing constantly to fit the needs and provocations over time... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Medusa

3.0 out of 5 stars At the Bottom of Everything Lies the Struggle for Power
Michel Foucault has based his entire corpus of history on the premise that society has been waging a battle between those at the center of society who wield power and those who... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Martin Asiner

4.0 out of 5 stars Foucault
Great introduction in the area of sexuality. Can be an asset to refrencing in academic work. In my opinion not really a book you could 'take to bed' as difficult to read.

Published on February 9, 2007 by Mrs. Jh Curtis

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard...but worth it.
Foucault is one of the most important thinkers of our time. He is a historian, a cultural theorist, and a philosopher. Read more

Published on June 20, 2006 by Benjamin Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars Influential and important work, absolutely dreadful translation
I would concur with the Marquis point regarding the quality of the translation, which is obfuscating at best, and downright misleading at its worst. Read more

Published on April 15, 2006 by K. Banerjee

1.0 out of 5 stars Abysmal
All Volumes Reviewed: Is this the work of Michel Foucault, the author of "Order of Things," "Discipline and Punish," and "Archeology of Knowledge? Read more

Published on March 22, 2006 by D. S. Heersink

3.0 out of 5 stars Important Author, Terrible Translation
While Foucault is a must-read in nearly all social science fields, this book should be read in conjunction with several other articles and books by Foucault--most notably,... Read more

Published on October 17, 2005 by Amol Shelat

4.0 out of 5 stars A Revolutionary Outline of Power
Philosopher? Historian? Better to call Michel Foucault just a plain old thinker.

First off, this book isn't just the history of sexuality, but concerned specifically with... Read more

Published on May 28, 2004 by Daniel Clausen

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