Michel Foucault's work has profoundly affected the teaching of such diverse disciplines as literary criticism, criminology, and gender studies. Arguing that definitions of abnormal behavior are culturally constructed, Foucault explored the unfair divisions between those who meet and those who deviate from social norms. In "Foucault For Beginners," the reader will discover Foucault's deeply visual sense of scenes such as ritual public executions.

Lydia Alix Fillingham has taught literary theory, Victorian literature, and writing, at Stanford University, University of Colorado, and Harvard University. She is currently an independent author, and also an attorney. She lives with her husband and two cats in Concord, Massachusetts.