Panopticon

In the book “1984” by George Orwell, he talks about the government who watches their citizens, control the past such as changing the newspapers, and important dates of events that happened and such. They used a “telescreen” as a surveillance system to watch whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted to. The way that Orwell explains and compares how 1984’s technology is used as surveillance is we as in 2017, are having our own privacy invaded by cameras, phones and other devices as well that…

Hindu texts mandated that all castes were equal because all tasks, jobs, and functions were necessary to maintain a productive and functioning society (Singh 2011). However, when the British occupancy of India began, the construction of a social panopticon began. A forced reduction of identity and self for the native populations alongside the subsequent propagation of western ideals. This is exemplified through 200 years of colonial law, beating down upon the backs of people telling them that…

In ‘The Rhetoric of Empire’, David Spur explores the discourse that Western journalists, travel writers and imperial administrators have used to depict the non-Western world using tropes, which he identifies through a careful analysis, tracing various sorts of writings from different historical contexts, and studying the way in which these tropes have been deployed. Among these rhetorical modes are surveillance, classification, and affirmation; framing these themes proves very much useful, as it…

Incarceration Rates in America Prison in America is something that is not new to our systems. Prisons tend to be a place where people are held waiting for their punishment. All types of people are sent to prison, men and women alike. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the hearings were public, which meant that anyone could see you die a horrible death. They did this to embarrass or shame the person. They used the ducking stool, the pillory, whipping, and branding. Most of the sentences were death.…

Jeffrey Green’s book, The Eyes of the People, is an interesting and unique break from traditional democratic theory. It appeals to the ideal of plebiscitary democracy and acknowledges the reality of everyday citizens’ participation, or lack thereof. Green boldly steps away from the traditional Athenian concept of democracy on a mass scale that dominates modern democratic theory. He calls to attention the challenges of said model of democracy and gives the reality of modern citizenship. In doing…

After 9/11, surveillance did not become substantively different; it was not an event that pushed our technological capacities forward, but a tragedy that provoked societal change. The topic of surveillance entered mainstream public discussion, with great public concern and support. “The apparent crisis was immediately seen as an opportunity for already existing systems and capacities to be more fully exploited. 9/11 thus brought surveillance to the surface. The existence of a “surveillance…

The Rise and Suspension of Subversion and Defiance: A Comparison of Culture in Subculture: The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige and Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault Culture is an ambiguous term that sociologists have attributed multiple definitions to. For the purpose of this essay, I will follow T.S. Eliot’s definition of all of the characteristic activities and interests of a group of people (Eliot, 1948). In this essay, I will compare how Dick Hebdige in Subculture: The Meaning of…

Surveillance has always been a contentious subject. In Foucault’s Discipline and Punish, he talks of The Panopticon where its inmates are vulnerable to constant visibility and manipulated into obediency. It is a metaphorical representation of a totalitarian society where the watchers, governmental bodies or organizations, are assured absolute power. (Foucault 1977) While I agree that panoptic surveillance can lead to disciplinary control, but Foucault’s arguement assumes that it is definitely…

This essay will explore the social perception of nuclear energy after Chernobyl. Focusing on affected human health in the contemporary context attempting to argue the need of concealing nuclear related information benefitting modernity. Explored by using architectural, scientific, and theoretical texts from, Le Corbusier, “Colin Rowe and Robert Slutzky, Jacques-Alain Miller and Richard Miller, Eve Blau, IAEA, WHO, and UNSCEAR. We analyze transparency in information represented by the media and…

In Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’, nature is presented as a sympathetic and forgiving force that is in direct contrast with the stringent Puritanical society and authoritative figures which are representative of civilisation in the novel. Some characters in the novel align themselves with nature, such as Hester and Pearl, whilst the majority of the townspeople vehemently avoid places such as the forest and seem to even live in fear of it. The former characters – Hester especially – are more…