Foucault, une aventure intellectuelle au Collège de France

On 12 April 1970, the philosopher Michel Foucault, the much celebrated and debated author of Histoire de la folie à l’âge classique and Les Mots et les Choses, was elected to the chair of History of Systems of Thought at the Collège de France. This election was far from a foregone conclusion for a scholar who had initially taught psychology but refused allegiance to any single discipline, and whose career was already marked by bold interventions and strong political commitments. It began an intellectual adventure lasting almost fourteen years, whose echoes can still be heard today, as shown by the enduring richness of concepts such as “governmentality”, “biopolitics”, “pastoral power” and “regime of truth”.

His lectures at the Collège de France were much more than drafts of his written work. They allowed him to explore new fields and test new hypotheses. Their influence began very early, through their popularity with the public and the free circulation of recordings and typescripts. It soon extended beyond France, thanks to an international audience and the philosopher’s many stays abroad, particularly in the United States, Brazil and Japan. The posthumous publication of the lectures, followed by translations around the world, made them a body of work in their own right, as widely read and cited as the books published during his lifetime. They gave his thought an unexpected second life, renewing understanding of its concerns and shedding light on his method.

The hundred or so exhibits — unpublished manuscripts, personal belongings, audio and video archives — trace a dazzling international career cut short too soon, leaving behind a considerable body of scholarly work. The exhibition highlights the coherence and lasting relevance of a constantly evolving body of thought that resisted labels. It places this adventure within a network of friendships and peers at the Collège de France, as well as strategies and struggles beyond its walls that remind us that knowledge is also a matter of power.

An exhibition organised by the Collège de France in partnership with the Bibliothèque nationale de France.