Sexuality: The 1964 Clermont-Ferrand and 1969 Vincennes Lectures by Michel Foucault represent the first English translations of these early lectures on sexuality. These would, I think, be interesting even to someone unfamiliar with Foucault's later published work on the subject. But for those who have read all or most of his work these lectures serve to both show his thought processes on sexuality as well as make clearer the methodological connections with his earlier (than the History of Sexuality) groundbreaking work.

I always approach introductions/forewards to works like this with some apprehension. They often spend time on their own ideas rather than the theorist at hand or they become little more than a loose historical contextualization. I think the introduction here, as well as the summaries at the end, work very well for these lectures. Ideas are discussed but largely with an eye toward placing Foucault's ideas of the lectures within his personal history. The important historical contextualization is where I think Harcourt excelled. We are reminded of what was and was not part of the discourse at the time(s) as well as what Foucault was responding to and, in hindsight, what he was setting up. I think this foreward will make this more accessible to the casual reader and serve as an important reminder for those familiar with Foucault's work.

I had heard a bit about how his thinking on sexuality had evolved, so while this filled many of the gaps for me I think my biggest takeaway was having the opportunity to see how his methodology had both kept many basic aspects while also changing, partly with the topic at hand and partly with his views as history played itself out around him. In other words, while I expected this to make my next reading of his History of Sexuality more nuanced I didn't anticipate the effect this will likely have on my rereadings of his other major works.

I would recommend this to any reader who has an interest in Foucault, especially those for whom the History has become a major touchstone of their thought and/or research. I do think that a more casual reader of Foucault will find a lot here of interest though I would suggest having the History relatively fresh in your mind so you can see how his thought evolved from 1964 and 1969 to 1976 and after.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )