The notion of exposure underlies much modern thinking about identity representation ethics desire and sexuality. This provocative notion is explored in a collection of essays selected from and inspired by the proceedings of a conference held in the Department of French at the University of Cambridge in 2002. The authors engage with exposure as both object and mode of representation in a range of cultural media literature critical theory visual art and film. They analyse a variety of works from the medieval earlymodern and modern periods examining not only canonical texts such as Montaignes Essais but also lesserstudied works such as the psychoanalytic theory of Didier Anzieu the photomontage selfportraits of Claude Cahun and the novel La Nouvelle Pornographie by Marie Nimier. This volume thus both illustrates and more importantly interrogates the richness of the term exposure in a way that is stimulating for students and researchers alike.