ABSTRACT
The return to an analysis of social practices is found in the lectures, interviews, and books that Foucault published in the 1970s. In Discipline and Punish (1975) and The History o f Sexuality (1977), he presents im portant parts of a far-reaching interpretation of modernity. In this section of our book, we lay out a synoptic overview of Foucault’s general story, an account which, not surprisingly, follows the broad line of argumentation used here. We should stress that Foucault has never presented his work in quite this form. His work is still very much in a process of change and refinement. There are areas of unclearness and sketchiness which can be read either as confusion or, more sym patheti cally, as problems he has opened up for further exploration, either by his subsequent work or by others.
