Category Archives: Foucault: The Birth of Power

Boris Porshnev – from peasant revolts in 17th century France to cryptozoology and the quest for the Soviet Yeti

Posted on December 14, 2025 by stuartelden

I first read the work of the Soviet historian Boris Fyodorovich Porshnev because of Michel Foucault. (His name is sometimes transliterated, especially in France, as Porchnev.) In his 1971-72 Collège de France lectures, Penal Theories and Institutions, Foucault spends the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Boris Porshnev, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, Sunday Histories, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Berfrois articles – a complete archive of my pieces for this much-missed site

Posted on September 17, 2025 by stuartelden

Between 2011 and 2022 I wrote eleven pieces for the much-missed Berfrois site. Most were reviews of recent books. Although the site closed to new submissions in 2022, I thought the archive would be preserved. I was therefore disappointed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ernst Kantorowicz, Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Georges Dumézil, Immanuel Kant, Michel Foucault, Shakespearean Territories, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault, Uncategorized, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Berfrois articles – an archive of my pieces for this much-missed site

Posted on August 26, 2025 by stuartelden

Between 2011 and 2022 I wrote eleven pieces for the much-missed Berfrois site. Most were reviews of recent books. Although the site closed to new submissions in 2022, I thought the archive would be preserved. I was therefore disappointed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ernst Kantorowicz, Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Georges Dumézil, Immanuel Kant, Michel Foucault, Shakespearean Territories, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault, Uncategorized, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

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

Posted on April 20, 2025 by stuartelden

I have discussed Foucault’s two visits to Buffalo before. First, most briefly, in Foucault: The Birth of Power (2017). In that book, which is on the first half of the 1970s, I simply indicated that Foucault gave some lectures in Buffalo (pp. … Continue reading →

Posted in Foucault: The Birth of Power, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sunday Histories, The Archaeology of Foucault, Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Foucault’s 1972 visit to Cornell University

Posted on January 12, 2025 by stuartelden

For his initial trips to the United States, Michel Foucault was often invited by French departments. His visits to SUNY Buffalo in 1970 and 1972, and the first of his multiple visits to the University of California, Berkeley in 1975 … Continue reading →

Posted in Daniel Defert, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, Sunday Histories, The Archaeology of Foucault | 14 Comments

Lynne Huffer, “Order and Archive: A Foucault Abecedary”, boundary 2, 2024 and Instagram tiles

Posted on January 7, 2025 by stuartelden

Lynne Huffer’s extraordinary essay, “Order and Archive: A Foucault Abecedary“, boundary 2, Vol 51 No 4, 2024 (requires subscription unfortunately). Lynne is now on Instagram and has posted several tiles relating to this essay. It’s a review article of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | 1 Comment

Lynne Huffer, “Order and Archive: A Foucault Abecedary”, boundary 2, 2024

Posted on December 2, 2024 by stuartelden

Lynne Huffer’s extraordinary essay, “Order and Archive: A Foucault Abecedary“, has just been published in boundary 2, Vol 51 No 4, 2024 (requires subscription unfortunately). Update January 2025: Lynne is now on Instagram and has posted several tiles relating to … Continue reading →

Posted in Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | 1 Comment

Stuart Elden, La última década de Foucault, trans. Albert Fuentes – Melusina, September 2004

Posted on October 4, 2024 by stuartelden

Stuart Elden, La última década de Foucault, trans. Albert Fuentes, Melusina, September 2004 Pleased to hear that the Spanish translation of Foucault’s Last Decade (Polity Press, 2016) has just been published. Many thanks to Albert Fuentes for the translation, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | 1 Comment

Dave Beer recalls his reading of 2023, with a nice mention of my Foucault work

Posted on December 27, 2023 by stuartelden

Dave Beer recalls his reading of 2023, with a nice mention of my Foucault work.

Posted in Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | Leave a comment

Foucault books – updated page with links to reviews, resources and talks

Posted on August 29, 2023 by stuartelden

I’ve updated the page on this blog about my series of Foucault books, The page has book descriptions, links to reviews, the updates I wrote while researching and writing the books and other related materials. Some translations, scans, textual analysis … Continue reading →

Posted in Canguilhem (book), Foucault's Last Decade, Foucault: The Birth of Power, Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Foucault, The Early Foucault | 1 Comment