I can admit to being petty with regard to Foucault

This book discusses the reception of Foucault’s work in general and of The History of Sexuality in particular. Foucault concerned himself with power structures, and his work often views this in political terms. Perhaps his work is best seen as a catalyst for discussion. The introduction situates his work within various philosophical movements and assumes the reader is familiar with them. There is a specific consideration of Foucault’s reception in feminist circles, particularly given that his work pretty much ignores gender as a system of power, thus functionally erasing women from the history he envisioned. Some view this absence as simply representing an avoidance of speaking to matters outside his own position, while others feel that the lack makes his entire program irrelevant to women’s history and feminist concerns. Further, some feel that the prominence given to Foucault has contributed to the erasure of work by feminist scholars.

Foucault’s arguments around sexuality have also generated much discussion. Entire swaths of the history of sexuality have been shaped by an apparently uncritical adoption of Foucault’s “acts versus identities” approach. The erasure of women within Foucault’s theory creates a specific gap around the usefulness of his work to the topic of female same-sex experiences.

This summary skims over the topics in the introduction very lightly. I will only be covering those articles that seem most relevant to the project.