Book excerpt: Education and punishment are two crucial sites of the "disciplinary society," approached by Durkheim and Foucault from different perspectives, but also in a shared concern with what kind of society might constitute an "emancipatory" alternative. This collection of essays explores the issues that are involved and that are illuminated through a comparison and contrast of two social theorists who at first sight might seem an "unlikely couple" - Durkheim and Foucault.