Religion and Culture

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 217 pages
• Published by: Routledge
• Edition: 1st Edition August 17, 1999
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 041592362X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0415923620
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 14.4 ounces

Product Review
It is valuable in that it brings together for the first time many previously inaccessible pieces by Foucault that will be of interest and use not only to students of theology, but also to students and scholars who have interest in social change, the self, and the society at large..
–Muhammad Ayaz Naseem, Foucault Studies

The reading of [this text] produces a nuanced frame for appreciating Foucault anew, directs readers to key moments and texts, and provides thorough referencing to the critiques made regarding Foucault's gender-blind and race-blind studies..
–Mary Keller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion

Product Description
Postmodern theorist Michel Foucault is best known for his work on "power/ knowledge", and on the regulation of sexuality in modern society. Yet throughout his life, Foucault was continually concerned with Christianity, other spiritual movements and religious traditions, and the death of God, and these themes and materials scattered are throughout his many writings. Religion and Culture collects for the first time this important thinker's work on religion, religious experience, and society. Here are classic essays such as The Battle for Chastity, alongside those that have been less widely read in English or in French. Selections are arranged in three groupings: Madness, Religion and the Avant-Garde; Religions, Politics and the East; and Christianity, Sexuality and the Self: Fragments of an Unpublished Volume. Ranging from Foucault's earliest studies of madness to Confessions of the Flesh, the unpublished fourth volume of his History of Sexuality, his final thoughts on early Christianity, Religion and Culture makes Foucault's work an indispensable part of contemporary religious thought, while also making an important link between religious studies and cultural studies.

Reader Reviews
As the English speaking world is lacking the definitive collection of Foucault's numerous occasional writings for journals, newspapers and forwards to books, any addition to the ever-expanding oeuvre of translations is a plus. Most of the selections here have been published previously in other collections. However, this collection includes some interesting pieces that were previously hard to find. My favorite may be "Who are you, Professor Foucault?" an interview conducted shortly after Les Mots and les choses, in which Foucault dismisses the criticism of anti-humanism by referring to humans as mere functioning species. Classic. Also, the essay, "Is It Useless to Revolt?" is a stunning and conflicting piece of political writing. Beautifully written (and translated). The editor includes a selection of Foucault's final lectures which outlines the intended fourth volume to the History of Sexuality: The Confessions of the Flesh. In all, these essays provide an interesting contrast between Foucault's aesthetic views and views on spirituality and religion. Indeed, the mystical side of Foucault are highlighted in his essays on Klossowski and modern French fiction when read alongside his writings on the Church and mystical experiences. Oh, and this collection includes a marvellous brief memoir by James Bernauer. Good stuff...