Michel Foucault is famous for his analysis of how power and knowledge are interwoven in institutions such as the prison or the clinic.  Less well known are the life stories that Foucault exhumed from the archives of these institutions.  These stories, such as that of a parricidal peasant thought to be insane and an intersex individual raised as a girl but later legally identified as a man, provoke us to question the links between personal identity, knowledge, power, and resistance.

This exhibit is inspired by Foucault’s biographical dossiers and explores the questions they raise.  Students in SOC 16, “The Lives of Infamous Men,” conducted original research.  Starting from an interest in one aspect of identity, whether race, gender, sexuality, or mental health, they unearthed individual lives buried deep within the archives at Williams.  These are their stories.