Disciple and Punish review
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Discipline and Punish
A L A N D. S C H R I F T
Michel Foucault published Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison in February 1975 in the Éditions Gallimard series “Bibliothèque des Histoires.” It was his first major work since The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969) and the first since his election to the
Chair in the History of Systems of Thought at the Collège de France in 1970. When it appeared, it confirmed Foucault’s position as a major force on the French intellectual scene and to this day it remains perhaps his most influential work. In this essay, I will review (1) the context in which Foucault wrote this work; (2) its structure and central themes; (3) its initial reception; and (4) its general place in Foucault’s oeuvre and its influence. I
On February 8, 1971, just nine and a half weeks after delivering his inaugural address at the Collège de France,1 Foucault, along with Jean-Marie Domenach (the editor of Esprit) and Pierre Vidal-Naquet (a distinguished historian, well known for his early opposition to the French army’s use of torture in Algeria), announced the formation of the organization Groupe d’Information sur les Prisons (GIP). At the Saint-Bernard de Montparnasse Chapel, Foucault read the following announcement of its purpose:
There is no one among us who is certain of escaping prison. Today less than ever. Police control is tightening on our everyday life, in city streets, and on the roads; expressing an opinion is once again an offense for foreigners and young people, and antidrug measures are increasingly arbitrary. We live in a state of “custody.” They tell us that the system of justice is overwhelmed. That is easy to see. But what if the police are the ones who have overwhelmed it? They tell us that the prisons are overcrowded. But what if the population is over-imprisoned? There is very little information published about prisons; it is one of the
A Companion to Foucault, First Edition. Edited by Christopher
Discipline and Punish
A L A N D. S C H R I F T
Michel Foucault published Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison in February 1975 in the Éditions Gallimard series “Bibliothèque des Histoires.” It was his first major work since The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969) and the first since his election to the
Chair in the History of Systems of Thought at the Collège de France in 1970. When it appeared, it confirmed Foucault’s position as a major force on the French intellectual scene and to this day it remains perhaps his most influential work. In this essay, I will review (1) the context in which Foucault wrote this work; (2) its structure and central themes; (3) its initial reception; and (4) its general place in Foucault’s oeuvre and its influence. I
On February 8, 1971, just nine and a half weeks after delivering his inaugural address at the Collège de France,1 Foucault, along with Jean-Marie Domenach (the editor of Esprit) and Pierre Vidal-Naquet (a distinguished historian, well known for his early opposition to the French army’s use of torture in Algeria), announced the formation of the organization Groupe d’Information sur les Prisons (GIP). At the Saint-Bernard de Montparnasse Chapel, Foucault read the following announcement of its purpose:
There is no one among us who is certain of escaping prison. Today less than ever. Police control is tightening on our everyday life, in city streets, and on the roads; expressing an opinion is once again an offense for foreigners and young people, and antidrug measures are increasingly arbitrary. We live in a state of “custody.” They tell us that the system of justice is overwhelmed. That is easy to see. But what if the police are the ones who have overwhelmed it? They tell us that the prisons are overcrowded. But what if the population is over-imprisoned? There is very little information published about prisons; it is one of the
A Companion to Foucault, First Edition. Edited by Christopher
References: Artières, Philippe, et al. (2010) Surveiller et punir de Michel Foucault: Regards critiques 1975–1979. Barham, Peter (1979) “Review of Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault,” Sociology 13, pp Bentham, Jeremy (1791) The Panopticon; or, The Inspection House. Dublin. Bourg, Julian (2007) From Revolution to Ethics: May 1968 and Contemporary French Thought. Deleuze, Gilles (2006) Two Regimes of Madness: Texts and Interviews 1975–1995. New York: Semiotext(e). Dosse, François (1997) History of Structuralism: The Sign Sets 1967–Presen. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Eribon, Didier (1991) Michel Foucault. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Ferguson, Harvie (1978) “Review of Discipline and Punish,” International Journal of Criminology and Penology 6, pp Fraser, Nancy (1989) Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory. Greenberg, David (1979) “Review of Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault,” Sociology and Social Research 64, pp Hoy, David, ed. (1986) Foucault: A Critical Reader. Oxford: Blackwell. Macey, David (1993) The Lives of Michel Foucault: A Biography. New York: Pantheon Books. Megill, Alan (1987) “The Reception of Foucault by Historians,” Journal of the History of Ideas 48, pp Miller, James (1993) The Passion of Michel Foucault. New York: Simon & Schuster. Singer, Richard (1979) “Review of Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault,” Crime and Delinquency 25, pp White, Hayden (1977) “Review of Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison,” The American Historical Review 82(3) (June), pp. 605–606.