Seminar 1 Panopticism.

Seminar 1

Panopticism

What did we take away from the lecture?

-       The way in which society makes us conform an behave in the way the government and society wants us to behave, shifting from physical to mental control.

-       The way that you are controlled makes you a more productive member of society.

Jeremy Bentham – The Panopticon  (1791)

An institution/System (not to be thought as a building or prison but a system)

-       Cant see who’s watching you

-       Cant see other inmates

-       Power should be visible but never verifiable

-       Inmates constantly illuminated

-       A Laboratory

Power is better thought as a relationship.

Power comes if somebody allows his or her power to be taken away.

Women are sex objects of men, as much because women willingly let themselves become sex objects of men.

Bosses have as much power over workers as long as the workers let the boss take that power.

Richard has power over us, but only because we agree to take notes and follow his lecture. But it’s actually the constitution that has to power. I.e. Supervising the Supervisor.

Self-regulating / controlling yourself.

Panopticism is when you create the power over yourself due to things made by the power holder.

Facebook is very panoptic having to keep us a social E identity.

Twitter is worse having people following you finding out where you are, but at the same time you want these people to follow you.

Turning everyone into a ‘Docile Body’.

Task

Write 300 words analysis of something panoptic in our world.

-       Quotes used throughout, weaving them in fragments of sentences.

-       ‘CCTV is an example of permanent registration’.