How did Foucault analyze historical change?
My method involves archaeology and genealogy. Archaeology excavates the underlying rules and formations of discourse that made certain statements possible at particular historical moments. Genealogy traces the contingent and often power-laden origins of concepts and practices, revealing their historical transformations rather than seeking a linear progression. I look at the discontinuities and ruptures, the 'epistemic breaks,' that mark shifts in how we understand the world.
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