Foucault: Historian or Philosopher?

The controversial French thinker, Michel Foucault, was famous not only for the variety of his interests but also for his frequent changes of position. Clare O'Farrell, in a lively and lucid account, argues that for all this diversity his work was held together by a coherent theme, namely the idea that philosophy should be practiced as an historical inquiry into the limits of ordered experience. At the same time, Foucault's work is situated in its intellectual and social context in France and striking differences between its French--and English--speaking reception are discussed and explained.