Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French social theorist, philosopher, historian, public intellectual, and activist best known for revealing through his method of "archaeology" how institutions wield power by creating discourses that are used to control people. Today, he is one of the most widely read and cited social theorists, and his theoretical contributions are still important and relevant in the 21st century.
Michel Foucault (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Explainer: the ideas of Foucault
Introduction to Michel Foucault, Module on Power
Roy F. Baumeister is an American social psychologist known for his work on the self, including self-esteem, free will, social rejection and belongingness, and human sexuality.
Roy Baumeister has spent his career trying to understand what human social life is all about. Trained as an experimental social psychologist, he received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1978. His research spans many topics from self and identity to how people think about the future. In 2013, he received the highest award given by the Association for Psychological Science, the William James Fellow award, in recognition of his lifetime achievements. He has published in excess of 600 scientific works and 35 books, including the New York Times Bestseller ‘Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength’. Listed in the bibliographies of more than 130,000 scientific writings, Roy is considered among the handful of most influential psychologists in the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
The Science Behind Our Need to Belong
The Need to Belong: The Belongingness Hypothesis and the Psychology and Theory Behind It
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Canadian sociologist Erving Goffman (1922–1982) was a significant thinker in the field of sociology and in particular the symbolic interaction perspective. He is known for his writings on the dramaturgical perspective and pioneered the study of face-to-face interaction. His notable books include "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life", and "Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity." He served as the 73rd president of the American Sociological Association and is listed as the 6th most-cited intellectual in the humanities and social sciences by The Times Higher Education Guide.
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
