Michel Foucault, alongside Jacques Derrida, emerged as a central figure in the poststructuralist movement—a loosely defined intellectual framework that significantly influenced literary studies, philosophy, and beyond. Foucault’s work stands out for its diverse strategies aimed at understanding human beings, moving beyond the confines of structuralism and its tendency to replace meaning with a formal model of human behavior. He also critiqued phenomenology's focus on tracing meaning back to an autonomous, transcendental subject.

Foucault's exploration of cultural dynamics and the human condition began with his groundbreaking book, Folie et déraison: Histoire de la folie à l’âge classique (1961; translated as Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, 1965). In this work, he delved into the frameworks of cultural exclusion and the societal integration of madness. This theme of examining structures continued in his next major publication, Naissance de la clinique: Une Archéologie du regard médical (1963; The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perceptions, 1973), where Foucault scrutinized the medical gaze, focusing on the body as an object of clinical observation.

His intellectual journey then led him to an analysis of discourse in The Order of Things and L’Archéologie du savoir (1969; The Archaeology of Knowledge, 1972), where he investigated the underlying structures shaping knowledge and language. At the time of his death, Foucault was deeply engaged in a comprehensive multivolume history of sexuality, several volumes of which had already been completed. Through these works, Foucault continually sought to uncover the intricate relationships between power, knowledge, and the human experience, contributing an enduring legacy to diverse fields of study.