File spoon-archives/foucault.archive/foucault_1998/foucault.9807, message 145


From: "Stuart Elden" <Stuart.Elden-AT-clara.co.uk>
Subject: Re: The Lives of Infamous Men
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 14:23:41 +0100


The text was originally published in Cahiers de chemin 29, 15 Jan 77,
pp19-29. It appears in Dits et Ecrits Vol III as text 198. English
translation in Paul Foss and Meaghan Morris (eds.), Power, Truth, Strategy,
Sydney: Feral, 1979, pp76-91.

I've checked Macey and Eribon and they both mention the text, and that it
was indeed for a projected project that was never published. I think the
text you mention is simply an introduction, and that the rest of the text
would have been archival material, rather than original work. Looking in
Dits et Ecrits it seems that the proposed volume became a projected
collection called 'Les Vies paralleles' (Gallimard) of which Herculine
Barbin was the first volume, then another (not by Foucault), Les Cercle
amoureux d'Henri Legrand,  followed in 1979. Le Desordre des familles,
although another project, directly followed from this work.

Speculatively, I would say that we should bear in mind that this is the time
that Foucault had envisaged six volumes of the History of Sexuality series
and that he effectively abandoned this whole project too. Perhaps he got too
caught up in the other work. Foucault often promised things that didn't
appear. The publication of the lecture courses may fill some gaps - I know
that when Dits et Ecrits appeared I was able to better contextualise lots of
Foucault's work.

I too would be interested in more information on this text, and also if
anyone knows about the Politiques de l'habitat 1800-1850 (Corda, 1977)
project for which Foucault wrote an 'avant-propos'. This does not appear in
Dits et Ecrits, and I presume this is because Foucault edited the
collection, and it therefore is deemed to be one of his own books. Has
anyone got a copy - what does it contain?

Best wishes

Stuart


>The work sounds very attractive. I would like to read it. Could you give a
more
>precise reference, please?
>
>Wayne
>Ian Robert Douglas wrote:
>
>> I've been re-reading this beautiful text; as Deleuze remarked, it is
indeed
>> a masterpiece.  I was wondering, for I was never able to find out myself,
>> if anyone on the list knows why, in the end, the projected volume for
which
>> this essay was an introduction, never appeared?  The essay was written in
>> 1977, and given the depth of wonder and passion with which Foucault
writes,
>> one wouldn't expect that he simply got bored of it.  I'm just curious.
>> Though a volume on a similar theme appeared in 1982 (_Le Desordre des
>> familles_), _La Vie des homme infames_ was supposedly a separate project.
>>
>> best wishes/sincerely,
>>
>> _____________________________________________________
>> Ian Robert Douglas,
>> Associate Lecturer & Fulbright Fellow,
>> Watson Institute of International Studies,
>> Brown University, Box 1831,
>> 130 Hope Street,
>> Providence, RI  02912
>>
>> tel: 401 863-2420
>> fax: 401 863-2192
>>
>> "Fire includes heat and light: it is the ardour that
>>  emanates from the heart, the lightning that
>>  flashes from the intellect, which performs
>>  miracles in this world."  -  Napoleon
>
>
>
>



   

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