BIRTH OF THE CLINIC
Through these WEB pages we present a number of
readings of Foucault's text on the rise of the clinic and its place in the
history of medicine. We do not claim to provide a 'true' reading. Rather, we
provide a series of different readings which may jar and clash with each other.
We hope that through this tension some interesting ideas can develop for you
the reader. We hope you will seek ways to apply these ideas. For students
meeting Foucault's text for the first time it may be helpful to move first to a
detailed presentation of the text. We call this a 'commentary' which already
sounds like a totalising, neutral reading of Foucault. It will not be because
it will take seriously Foucault's own concern over commentary which he details
in the Preface to Birth of the Clinic. The
'commentary' reading takes each chapter of the text and explores through
detailed quotation some possible approaches. It does not refer to sources
outside the text and does not refer to prior reading. It is, therefore, rather
like a lit. crit. reading of a major contemporary philosopher and social
theorist. It provides a means of equipping the student for the more detailed
consideration of different arguments with and against Foucault. Everyone can
join in these arguments and there are plenty of opportunities for establishing
email contact with tutors. However, you will find that some of the approaches
draw substantially on prior reading associated with units in the Sheffield
Hallam Social Theory courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
If you are meeting this text for the first time you might like to explore the
commentary readings beginning at
commentary.