Lectures de Michel Foucault

The contributions brought together in this volume constitute one of the first attempts to consider the unusual step of the lessons given by Foucault at the Collège de France being made available to the public. In "Society must be defended", Foucault looks at the issue of power and the question of war as an analyser of power relations and traces the genealogy of historic-political discourse on the subject of race wars, from their premises in the 16th century to their transformation into state racism in the 20th century.
The aim of these Lectures by Michel Foucault is not to expose his work to erudite commentary. The objective is rather to problematise the link between historical discourse on race wars during the 17th and 18th centuries and the biological racism of the late 19th century through the general hypothesis of the development of biopower in the West. The main aim here, beyond any desire for celebratory exegesis, is to open up new avenues for reflection which, on occasion, extend, but can also displace and challenge, the path forged by Foucault.