Panopticism Synopsis
“Panopticism” Synopsis (beginning to 301) The Plague
Foucault starts off his essay with the plague and the measures taken by a town to prevent it from affecting more people. People have been ordered to stay inside. Every street has been under surveillance and authority to make sure no one leaves their home or else the penalty will be death. There are no specific names or history of the people except for the roles that they play and what they do. For example, the town was divided into distinct sections where the syndic himself locks the doors of everyone. The key is handed over to the intendant until the quarantine has passed. Only the syndics, intendant, and guards are allowed to walk along the streets. “The plague is met by order; its function is to sort out every possible confusion: that of the disease, which is transmitted when bodies are mixed together; that of the evil, which is increased when fear and death overcome prohibitions.” (Page 284) According to this specific quote, the plague is being compared to order, control and discipline.
Leprosy
He goes on about the plague and then transitions into the political idea of leprosy and lepers. “One the one hand, the lepers are treated like plague victims; the tactics of individualizing disciplines are imposed on the excluded; and, on the other hand, the universality of disciplinary controls makes it possible to brand the “leper” and to bring into play against him the dualistic mechanisms of exclusion. (Page 285) He ties together lepers and the plague together in a way that involves exclusion but on the other hand control. Lepers are considered, as outcasts where there is a certain aspect about them that people don’t want to be around them. Both are similar in a way that they deal with excluding people from the community and society. This portrays a sense of control and discipline that is of greater power over the people.
The Panopticon
The Panopticon was a significant part of the essay in which Foucault
Foucault starts off his essay with the plague and the measures taken by a town to prevent it from affecting more people. People have been ordered to stay inside. Every street has been under surveillance and authority to make sure no one leaves their home or else the penalty will be death. There are no specific names or history of the people except for the roles that they play and what they do. For example, the town was divided into distinct sections where the syndic himself locks the doors of everyone. The key is handed over to the intendant until the quarantine has passed. Only the syndics, intendant, and guards are allowed to walk along the streets. “The plague is met by order; its function is to sort out every possible confusion: that of the disease, which is transmitted when bodies are mixed together; that of the evil, which is increased when fear and death overcome prohibitions.” (Page 284) According to this specific quote, the plague is being compared to order, control and discipline.
Leprosy
He goes on about the plague and then transitions into the political idea of leprosy and lepers. “One the one hand, the lepers are treated like plague victims; the tactics of individualizing disciplines are imposed on the excluded; and, on the other hand, the universality of disciplinary controls makes it possible to brand the “leper” and to bring into play against him the dualistic mechanisms of exclusion. (Page 285) He ties together lepers and the plague together in a way that involves exclusion but on the other hand control. Lepers are considered, as outcasts where there is a certain aspect about them that people don’t want to be around them. Both are similar in a way that they deal with excluding people from the community and society. This portrays a sense of control and discipline that is of greater power over the people.
The Panopticon
The Panopticon was a significant part of the essay in which Foucault