It was really interesting to read the thoughts of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century on such a divisive topic (and taboo at times). While reading this you are presented with analysis of how our view of sexuality was shaped by our culture and society. Also you are asked to question your own views, your own behaviours. A great book in every respect, but one would expect nothing less from Foucault..

While Foucault's The History of Sexuality (which I still have to read!) had its first volume published in 1976, these lectures show Foucault's thinking on sexuality in the 1960s from a couple of lectures at the University of Clermont-Ferrand in 1964 and at Vincennes in 1969. I personally hadn't read any of Foucault's works until now, though I've read a decent amount of literature referencing his theories on power and knowledge. There's a lot in these lectures: contrasts of sexuality as transgression with second-wave feminism and history of male/female power relations, Western constructions of the science of sexuality where it's studied as abnormalities/difference, pathologicalization and infantilization of sexuality, etc.

I don't regularly read academic work, but I do pick up a couple every once in a while. These lectures, a transcription of Foucault's original notes, were extremely taxing on my brain. I really appreciated the footnotes (though I would have benefited more from flipped between footnotes with a physical book rather than an ebook).

Overall, I appreciated that this English translation existed of a marvelous piece of work from one of history's most renowned thinkers. I hope to read more of Foucault's work soon and perhaps come back to these lectures in the future!

Sexuality: The 1964 Clermont-Ferrand and 1969 Vincennes Lectures is a translated reprise of Michel Foucalt's lectues in 1964 (Clermont-Ferrand) and 1969 (Vincennes) which formed the basis of some of his later work. Released 13th July 2021 by Columbia University Press, it's 440 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats.

These lectures occurred at a time when homosexuality was still considered a medically pathological diagnosis. Although sociological upheavals and cultural shifts were being felt, the fact remained that sexuality was taboo and not well examined in most disciplines and academia was no exception generally.

This book is arranged into chronological order with the Clermont-Ferrand lecture first, followed by the Vincennes. The lectures themselves are translated directly with copious annotations and explanations. This is deeply academic material. I am a STE(A)M nerd and consider myself an academic, and I found some parts of it very onerous and inaccessible. It reminded me in both format and style of other famous transcribed lectures such as the Feynman lectures (with which I have had more success because I'm a STE(A)M nerd).

The translation work was seamless to me as an end-user (although I did not compare it to the original French).

I found this volume interesting and intriguing. It is, admittedly, a niche book and will appeal to readers interested in culture, human sexuality, and philosophy, but probably won't appeal to readers looking for an easy read. The language is rigorous and formal. I definitely don't think it's inaccessible for the average reader, but it will take some effort (and I think that's a good thing). This would make a good support text for classroom or library use, for psychology, philosophy and allied subjects, as well as a superlative read for the particularly cultural-history-interested reader.

Five stars. This is a well and deeply researched and engaging look at core concepts of sexuality and thoughts of one of the indisputably great minds of the 20th century.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

It isn't often that I feel, when picking up a book, that I've bitten off more than I can chew. But this is the case here. It's not the book's fault; in a sense, it's not mine, either, because I couldn't have known exactly what was inside it without looking.

What you must know: <b>This is a book that Michel Foucault never wrote and never published, even though its contents are undoubtedly Foucault's.</b>

Rather, it's a historical document: the reconstruction of Foucault's notes for two series of lectures given five years apart in two different circumstances. The first, 1964 Clermont-Ferrand, are lectures held for psychology undergraduates; the second, 1969 Vincennes, are lectures for philosophy students. Foucault wasn't expressing his own ideas here for the sake of a wider audience; rather, he was teaching in a very specific context.

What's more, these aren't <i>verbatim recordings</i> of his lectures, neatly transcribed: these are his notes, that he would be using in the process of teaching (with some additions from students' notes taken during this class). In other words, they're not the lectures in themselves; they are personal notes that the lectures will be based on. Which means that I'm not sure how these were presented.

...Look, I'm no philosopher, I don't know the history of psychology and I don't really know my Foucault. I can't even begin to explain how out of my depth I am here. Foucault clearly lectures about ideas that were widely spread at the time; there's an onslaught of Freudianism (apparently quite popular at the time), there's discussion of Sade, an entire realm of psychology that doesn't seem to resemble our own, generalizing statements that I'm not sure how to take, and more.

I throw my hands up in despair and surrender: I cannot have an opinion on what he's teaching. It's summarized, alien, and I'm not sure how it fits together in a classroom setting, what opinions are his own and what opinions he's merely explaining to the audience. I can understand some of it from the notes and other meta provided in this edition by everyone who worked on it, but this isn't really a book meant to explain <i>everything</i> to a reader who stumbled in and found themselves out of their depth, so I'd rather not venture opinions. By the way, this is in no way a reproach; not all books are meant for everyone, nor should they be.

<b>But I can appreciate the scholarship that went into this book. It's wonderful.</b> The notes aren't simply shoved at us, but we get explanations about the state they were in and how they were transcribed. There are little footnotes telling us how Foucault renumbered lists, for example, how he inserted pages in the middle of lectures, what words he crossed out and replaced with others, what he underlined and more.

Aside from that, we get two good forewords telling us what we're about to read, one from Bernard E. Harcourt, the other the foreword to the French edition, by François Ewald, as well as explanations on how the text was edited, by Claude-Olivier Doron. At the end of the book (I really wish these were inserted before each lecture, though) are course contexts by Claude-Olivier Doron, explaining what was novel and interesting, and what to pay attention to in each course. And that's even without mentioning the amazing and detailed endnotes at the end of each lecture, explaining many of the things which were otherwise hard to decipher.

If you like Foucault, or if this sounds great to you for other reasons, I'd deeply recommend getting a physical copy of the book. I received the digital ARC from Columbia University Press (via NetGalley) and it's lovely, but I really wished I'd been able to shove a couple of bookmarks in it to more easily move between the lectures and the notes. It was difficult to go back and forth as much as I wanted on a tablet, and eventually I mostly gave up (which is a pity, but it was added difficulty to a text that was already, as I mentioned, too far from my area of knowledge).

This book reflects an effort I can both respect and admire, even if I must, for the time being, do it from afar. Many thanks to Columbia University Press (and NetGalley) for offering an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou Netgalley for this advanced copy of Sexuality in exchange for an honest review of the book. I really enjoyed Michel Foucault’s book. I found his perspectives very interesting.