Michel Foucault in the social study of ICTs: critique and reappraisal

Despite the considerable cross-disciplinary influence of Foucault’s work, he is, the article argues, unjustly neglected in the study of information and communication technologies (ICTs), espe-cially in the information systems (IS) field. The article argues for the abiding relevance of Foucault’s oeuvre. His thinking on techne and technology is reviewed, and a critique of his rel-ative neglect in the IS discipline is provided. The article then critically evaluates and illustrates how he can and has been used in the study of ICTs in IS, organization, management, and sur-veillance studies, and, more recently, by those studying network society, technobodies, and cyberspace. The article concludes by pointing to the potential for utilizing Foucault in decon-structing the growing interest in ICT-supported knowledge management and related systems and understanding control in liquid modernity