In my paper I draw the connection between Michel Foucault’s way of using genealogy as a criticalmethod and the role of affects. I argue that genealogy as critique works because of its affectivedimension insofar as it offers us an experience of thinking and acting differently once we have beenconfronted with the genealogical text. Foucauldian genealogies tell us stories about power relations andsubjectivations that take their starting point from a current political problem. I show that these storiesunfold their critical intention because they both affect us and tell us something about affection ingeneral. Reading genealogy as critique in this way can enrich the affect theory for a valuable positionthat is capable of analyzing power structures and practices of subjectivations. Thus, the aim is toqualify affects not so much as something irrational or repressive but useful for an emancipatoryinterest.