SWP 335 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Panopticon
Document Summary
Ur(cid:448)eilla(cid:374)(cid:272)e is supre(cid:373)e (cid:862)you are (cid:271)ei(cid:374)g (cid:449)at(cid:272)hed(cid:863) The person being watched is constantly visible to the person who is watching (inmate, pauper/supervisor) The sense of control of the supervisor is both immediate and constant. The person exercising the power is invisible. You never know when you are being watched, who is watching you, and how it is being interpreted/recorded (inscrutable) You cannot make accountable the person in control. They are also trapped by their visibility. Power is not an essence socially construct. Very efficient because it makes people self-regulate and be self-conscious. The primary effect of panopticon is the internalization of conscious state of visibility. People start believing they are the source of their own problem. It makes power very specific in its control. It makes the individual not the group the centre of control. Need to (cid:272)reate groups of (cid:858)(cid:373)o(cid:374)sters(cid:859) (cid:449)ho (cid:373)ust (cid:271)e isolated a(cid:374)d (cid:449)at(cid:272)hed to prote(cid:272)t the society/culture. To operate the system needs dangerous people.