Final Portfolio

The Panopticon

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Question 1. What is the question being addressed in this text?

The question being addressed in the text is the nature of power in modern society. How does power insert itself into people’s actions, and how does it direct their learning process in the conversations they have in everyday life?

Question 2. What is Michel Foucault arguing?

Foucault argues that discipline in modern society has shifted due to a change from a monarchy to a democracy. Consequently, modern systems do not focus on physical acts of discipline such as torture but instead focus on the mind.

Question 3. What disciplinary techniques did the authorities use to handle the plague?

The main method used to control the plague is first the partitioning of space. The act is meant as a process of quarantine along with closing off houses. There was also constant inspection from the authorities, and people were required to register (Foucault, 1977).

Question 4. What is the panopticon?

The panopticon is a type of prison where prison cells are constructed around a central watchtower. The tower is placed centrally to have a good vantage point to view all of the cells. From the cells, prisoners cannot determine if the watchtower is active or dormant.

Question 5. What are its major effects?

The panopticon effect is that prisoners know they are seen but cannot communicate with prison authorities or other prisoners. The prisoners have a sense of permanent visibility and cannot participate in a crowd. The main focus is on the individual.

Question 6. What are the consequences of those effects?

The consequence is that prisoners are disciplined and refrain from bad behavior because they are constantly being watched. Their behavior does not change even if there is no one in the tower.

Question 7. How does the panopticon achieve those effects?

The panopticon enables prisoners to internalize coercion. Internalization is achieved through constant observation and separating people from one another. With no interaction or communication, prisoners internalize constant surveillance.

Question 8. What is the relationship between the plague-stricken town and the panoptic establishment?

The panopticon is a metaphor for Foucault’s argument. Just as the plague, the panopticon is created out of the need to surveil. Plague measures enabled the government to protect citizens, while the panopticon empowers the state to operate efficiently and is a more permanent structure. A shift from plague measure to the panopticon represents a state that uses coercion methods to exact public control.

Reference

Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Vintage Books.