Michel Foucault
Pantheon Books, New York, 1977. English; originally published 1975 in French
Nonfiction, General
ISBN: 9780394499420

Tracing the history of punishment from torture to imprisonment, the French philosopher aims to explain why penitentiaries have become the dominant means of punishment today and as a reflection of power dynamics. First published under the French title Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison.

On 2 book lists
Alexa Hampton

I love reading theory. Whether or not one agrees, theory usually contains great creative thinking.

Abbott Miller

Foucault's book offered a radically new way of thinking about modernity. I was obsessed with this book and it became the “gateway” book to the entire Foucault corpus: classifications, prison, death, sexuality, etc.

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