University Teaching Methods: Two or three lessons from Michel Foucault (full text in French)

Abstract

Michel Foucault's last works, which were devoted to the concept of the self in the hellenistic and roman period, were very meticulous works, within a body of exercises thanks to which the subject could construct its autonomy. This is especially apparent in some writing exercises regarding the self. It seems to me that these exercises could be of interest to our students today and without doubt also to us, the professors ourselves, under certain conditions. This is exactly what I am trying to demonstrate here by placing them in a contemporary framework which is linked to the concept of self-education.

However, an account of Michel Foucault's ideas and works also signals the attention that must be paid, among other things, to the fact too that we are talking about a "great professor". It is indeed difficult to read the transcriptions of his lectures at the College of France without noting this. But what is it exactly for one to be a great professor, and ultimately simply a professor? I wanted to approach this issue by examining the characteristics "of what could be a way of providing offering generous knowledge".