Foucault: the Panopticon

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What is sovereign power?
In pre-modern society, the monarch exercised physical power over people's bodies and punishment was a variable spectacle, e.g. public execution
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What is disciplinary power?
it became dominant in the 19th century and seeks to govern not just the body, but also the mind through surveillance. Foucault uses the Panopticon to illustrate this
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What is The Panopticon?
a prison design where prisoners' cells are visible to the guards, but the guards are not visible to the prisoners. not knowing if they are being watched means the prisoners must constantly behave as if they were
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What does surveillance turn into?
self-surveillance
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What does Foucault argue?
other institutions followed this pattern and disciplinary power has now infiltrated every part of society, bringing its effects to the human 'soul' itself
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Evaluation
Foucault exaggerates the extent of control; e.g. even psychiatric patients can resist control
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Card 2

Front

What is disciplinary power?

Back

it became dominant in the 19th century and seeks to govern not just the body, but also the mind through surveillance. Foucault uses the Panopticon to illustrate this

Card 3

Front

What is The Panopticon?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What does surveillance turn into?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What does Foucault argue?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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