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Power and identity in Foucault
Power in foucault
Foucaults power theory disciplinary power
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Recommended: Power and identity in Foucault
Foucault and Truffaut: Power and Social Control in French Society
Both Michel Foucault and Truffaut's depiction of a disciplinary society are nearly identical. But Truffaut's interpretation sees more room for freedom within the disciplinary society. The difference stems from Foucault's belief that the social control in disciplinary pervades all elements of life and there is no escape from this type of control. Foucault's work deals mostly with
"power" and his conception of it. Like Nietzsche, Foucault sees power not as a fixed quantity of physical force, but instead as a stream of energy flowing through all aspects of society, its power harnesses itself in regulating the behavior of individuals, the systems of knowledge, a societies institutions, and every interaction between people.
Foucault in Discipline and Punish, applies this notion of power in tracing the rise of the prison system in France and the rise of other coercive institutions such as monasteries, the army, mental asylums, and other technologies. In his work Foucault exposes how seemingly benign or even reformist institutions such as the modern prison system (versus the stocks, and scaffolds) are technologies that are typical of the modern, painless, friendly, and impersonal coercive tools of the modern world. In fact the success of these technologies stems from their ability to appear unobtrusive and humane. These prisons Foucault goes on to explain like many institutions in post 1700th century society isolate those that society deems abnormal. This isolation seeks to attack the souls of people in order to dominate them similar to how the torture and brutality of pre 1700th century society sought to dominate the physical bodies of prisoners. In Foucault's interpretation freedom from the pervasive influence of "power" is impossible. Because his conception of "power" exists not just in individual institutions of society like prisons but instead exists in the structure of society and more importantly in peoples thought systems, escape from social control is impossible. Foucault in the last chapter talks about how even the reforms in the system have been co-opted to further the goals of the state. Instead of a lessening of social control Foucault sees that the technologies change from the wheels and gallows of the 17th century to the disciplinary society of the 19th century to the emerging carceral city of the future. In this carceral city the dispersion of power will be complete. The technologies of control will emanate from all parts of society, "walls, space, institution, rules, and discourse."
Truffaut's interpretation of society and its future is much more upbeat.
Although like Foucault he sees the technologies of the disciplinary society as insidious social control mechanisms.
Foucault and Nietzsche challenge the hidden purposes of historians in their search for origins, demonstrating that an accurate understanding of history rectifies one of any beliefs of moral origins. In this paper, I will elaborate what Foucault thinks an accurate understanding of history regarding punishment truly is. I am going to clarify this concept by focusing on the first chapter of Foucault’s book, Discipline and Punish.
The Punishment Imperative, a book based on the transition from a time when punishment was thought to be necessarily harsh to a time where reform in the prion system is needed, explains the reasons why the grand social experiment of severe punishment did not work. The authors of the book, Todd R. Clear and Natasha A. Frost, strongly argue that the previous mindset of harsh punishment has been replaced due to political shifts, firsthand evidence, and spending issues within the government. Clear and Frost successfully assert their argument throughout the book using quantitative and qualitative information spanning from government policies to the reintegration of previous convicts into society.
Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation of the American prison system brought out several interesting facts about America and how it governs itself. He talks of the danger of greed for money, the importance of forming associations, and the power of influence in town government. Although many of his observations have since changed, many of them bring about legitimate points about American government and society.
The question as to which bathroom transgender people should use has been a huge debate over the last few years. Some people claim they should use the bathroom of whatever gender they identify with while others claim this will result in them harassing cisgender people using the bathroom and that instead transgender people should use the bathroom according to their assigned gender at birth. Another solution that is often suggested is to institute a gender neutral bathroom for either just transgender people or for everyone to use. In general transgender men and women are men are simply that: men and women and they should be able to use the bathroom that best correlates with their gender identity.
Shakespeare’s plays, among other classic works of literature, tend to be forged with the tension of human emotion. The archetypical parallel of love and hatred polarizes characters and emphasizes the stark details of the plot. More specifically, the compelling force of revenge is behind most of the motives of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. The play opens with the return of Hamlet’s father, a surprising encounter, which ended in his son learning that his father’s death was the result of foul play. By emphasizing this scene as the beginning of the story to be told, Shakespeare clearly implies that the plot itself will be based around the theme of revenge. Through three different instances of behavior fueled entirely by vengeance, Shakespeare creates an image in the reader’s mind, which foreshadows the future of the story and provides insight into the plot line. Even so, despite the theme of revenge being the overarching concern of the plot, the parallels drawn between characters truly strengthen the thematic depth of the piece overall, making the play easily one of Shakespeare’s most infamous and historically valuable works.
An American resolution: The history of prisons in the United States from 1777 to 1877 by Matthew Meskell. Stanford Law Review.
In Western cultures imprisonment is the universal method of punishing criminals (Chapman 571). According to criminologists locking up criminals may not even be an effective form of punishment. First, the prison sentences do not serve as an example to deter future criminals, which is indicated, in the increased rates of criminal behavior over the years. Secondly, prisons may protect the average citizen from crimes but the violence is then diverted to prison workers and other inmates. Finally, inmates are locked together which impedes their rehabilitation and exposes them too more criminal
The simplest and superficially the most appealing way to understand Shakespeare’s Hamlet is to see it as a revenge tragedy. This genre was well established and quite popular in Shakespeare’s time, but it was precisely part of his genius that he could take old forms and renew them by a creative violation of their standards. As this essay will explore, Hamlet stands the conventional revenge tragedy on its head, and uses the tensions created by this reversal of type to add depth to its characters and story.
Recently, in a poorly written article for The Federalist, Mrs. Nicole Russell let her feelings about allowing transgender people in the bathroom that best matches their gender identities known. In her uneducated opinion expressed in “The Sexes: Don’t Put My Five-Year-Old Girl In A Bathroom With A Transgender Boy” Mrs. Russell claims that transgender people should stick to the gender, and by default, the bathroom that was assigned to them at birth.
Revenge is a recurring theme in Hamlet. Although Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, he is afraid of what would result from this. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet’s unwillingness to revenge appears throughout the text; Shakespeare exhibits this through Hamlet’s realization that revenge is not the right option, Hamlet‘s realization that revenge is the same as the crime which was already committed, and his understanding that to revenge is to become a “beast” and to not revenge is as well (Kastan 1).
Revenge tragedy is one of the main focuses of the plot because everything Hamlet does and every action he takes is because of his internal struggle of trying to fix a wrong- his father’s death. Hamlet knows that whatever he does to seek revenge will result in consequences, and even if he does not do anything, he will have to deal with the guilt for not taking action like his father asked.
Since bathrooms are based on sexist views that hold men as protectors and women as weak and since gendered bathrooms cause many problems for people who do not follow conventional rules of gender, bathrooms without gender can even-out the lines to the women’s restroom, provide transgender people a safe place to use the bathroom, and allow non-binary people the chance to not feel excluded or discriminated against. It is the duty as American citizens to fight for those who are treated unequally, even in places like bathrooms. Everyday- people should push for comprehensive legislation mandating that at least all public restroom facilities are gender neutral, or that all public buildings have at least one multi-stall gender-neutral bathroom. Citizens should stand up for the minority, who are currently being smothered by rhetoric with no factual backing, under the thin veil of protecting children. This way, America can progress as the land of the free once
In the play, Hamlet, William Shakespeare explores the theme of revenge. Throughout the work, Hamlet acquires a moral dilemma; he cannot decide how to carry out revenge without condemning himself. Thus, although the play promotes the idea of revenge at the beginning, the cultivation of dialogue, relationships, and complications provide evidence of the detrimental consequences and limitations of the theme.
Overtime, transgendered students may have been subjected to be either ridiculed, abused, or even assaulted physically or sexually in a public restroom. In the article “Which Way to the Restroom? - Respecting the Rights of Transgender Youth in the School System: A North American Perspective”, authors Grant Bowers and Wendy Lopez both agree that “ as a general rule, transgender students of any age should have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity, particularly if it aligns with their gender presentation”(Bowers and Lopez). Although this idea sounds great, many do not agree, especially the parents of the students. In cases such as Nicole Ames, A fifth grade student at Asa Adams Elementary School in Maine, where she was followed into the restroom and assaulted by a male student, are examples why these gender neutral bathrooms should become available in the schools setting. The aftermath of the physical assault led to a huge debate whether or not she should continue going to her school. After speaking with the school and district, “Nicole 's parents had met with the school’s administration and agreed that the student could use the girls ' restroom unless other girls or parents objected” (Bowers and Lopez). Every school has to deal with every student 's rights because they are all
In Williams Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, there are many themes. Revenge is the biggest theme in this play. The idea of Revenge plagues Hamlet and causes many tragic deaths in its wake. Hamlet who consumed by the need of revenge is the cause of all of the deaths in the play. The deaths that are directly caused by the sense of revenge is in order, Polonius, Ophellia, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet himself. Revenge is the downfall of all of the characters in the play. While there are many themes to this play, revenge is the key to what makes this play a tragedy.