Discipline and Punish

"Panopticism" is a social theory created by Michel Foucault in his book Discipline and Punish. He defines this term as “the general principle of a new 'political anatomy ' whose object and end are not the relations of sovereignty but the relations of discipline" (Foucault 191). In other words, Foucault believes that institutions like the military, schools, and hospitals are controlled by requiring everyone to obey the rules and by punishing those who do not follow the rules to improve the…

dominant group to control these individuals into continuously conforming to the norms they have learned through the process of socialization. It also works indirectly as an external means of social control by assisting those who have the power to punish, the evidence of someone breaking the law. But, in most circumstances the records of this evidence cannot be pushed forward without the assistance of the operators of the…

Michel Foucault, the author of the book Discipline and Punish, describes the birth of normalization and discipline with the opening of the Mettray Prison Colony. He says, “There were penal colonies envisaged by the law of 1850: minors, acquitted or condemned, were to be sent to these colonies and brought up in common, under strict discipline, and trained in agricultural work…The carceral circles widen…We have seen that, in penal justice, the prison transformed the punitive procedure into a…

When I was a child, Disney Princesses like Belle and Cinderella were my idols. There was some kind of independence and strength found within the characters. However, in retrospect I cannot help but notice a male gaze that is ominous over both of these films. The female characters are presented in a way that fits the mold of stereotypes and in turn objectifies them as prizes to be won. Cinderella and Belle became no more than beautiful damsels in distress. Then instead of saving themselves, a…

Donna Richel Sarong; Kate Dianne Opimo A Review on Foucault’s book Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison Foucault first attracts yet directly establishes what the chapter is all about through thick description about the process of amende honorable, a violent torture in front of the public experienced by Damiens the regicide on 1757. He has brought us back to that time when the act of punishment is still a public spectacle and is ‘horrifying’. One crime could automatically be equaled…

It is not surprising at all that prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks and hospitals because they all practice discipline and punishment within those walls. People feel watched with in the walls of those organizations and often feel trapped. Panopticon was created to discipline people which is accomplished by knowing that we are being watched. Good thing about is that with panopticon there is less crime, but there are many bad sides to it. With panopticon lack of full freedom and…

actually is. In his book Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault offers a critique of the modern liberal society and helps to expose the truth behind the ever-present illusion of freedom. According to Foucault, an individual is disciplined and punished in society in three different aspects: by hierarchical observation, normalized judgements, and strict examination. By Foucault’s examination of these aspects of disciplinary power, he concludes that…

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood shows an imaginative attempt to conceive a future where women have lost their autonomy and rights, and where the American government is run by conservative moral and religious ideals. Atwood creates a dystopian story which frames itself through Michel Foucault’s Panopticon. The panoptic establishment relies upon complete visibility, a hierarchical organization of power, and an enclosed space. These three concepts are all prevalent throughout the novel. The…

Foucault's Discipline and Punish is a book based on the history of the penal system. Foucault uses this book to breakdown the process of punishment, what all it contain, and how power can affect punishment. He starts this book off by discussing the issues before the eighteenth century. When the issues were prominent, public execution and corporal punishment was the most commonly used forms of punishments. During this time period punishments were viewed as a ceremonial type of ordeal that…

In Michel Foucault’s book Discipline and Punish, he writes of the dramatic increase in military effectiveness as a result of changes in the methods of discipline. These changes “increases the skill of each individual, coordinates these skills, accelerates movements, increases fire power, broadens the fronts of attack without reducing their vigour, increases the capacity for resistance” (210). Foucault also states that before these changes, military discipline was merely a device used as a means…