It was Foucault himself, who created that straw man at the end of Discipline and Punish, esp in part IV, chapter III: The Carceral, points 3, 4 and 5.
But he himself also developed - later on, after being criticized - the counter-point, which is the idea of resistance and of critique. It was announced in the very last section of that chapter as 'le grondement de la bataille'.
So, yes Panopticum is a methaphor, but the picture in Discipline and Punish of modern society as a completely disciplined society is not a methapor and even not a (negative) ideal type, it is a generalizing diagnosis of what's going on in society.
yours
machiel karskens
----- "Nathaniel Roberts" <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: "Nathaniel Roberts" <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Mailing-list" <foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 9:48:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] Foucault on Panopticon
>
> The paper itself may be premised on a straw man.
>
> Did Foucault ever say the panopticon provided a "metaphor of modern
> society"? It is my understanding that the panopticon is just one
> example of
> *an ideal* that was current at a time when great faith was placed in
> disciplinary forms of power. And it is also one of the examples
> Foucualt
> gives to illustrate how disciplinary power works.
>
> But, for Foucault, modern society ≠ disciplinary power
>
> Disciplinary power is one form of power that operates in modern
> society. By
> the time of his lectures published under the title "Security,
> Territory,
> Population" Foucault was already moving away from the idea that a
> "disciplinary" age had replaced a previous age based on "sovereignty";
> the
> disciplines, legal power (or sovereignty) work together in the same
> age.
> These combine with a new form he initially called "security," and
> which he
> later came to call "governmentality."
>
> Nate
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 4:41 AM, Ali Rizvi <ali_m_rizvi@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> > Someone has asked me to post the following query to the group.
> Thanks for
> > any
> > help. Ali
> >
> > "I am currently doing an long project (10,000 words) on Focault and
> > analyzing the claim that the panopticon is a successful metaphor for
> > contemporary society. I am looking for strong criticisms to such a
> > claim and was wondering if you knew of any that I could read into."
> > _______________________________________________
> > Foucault-L mailing list
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Nathaniel Roberts
> Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
> Herman-Föge-Weg 11
> 37073 Göttingen
> Germany
> +49 (0) 551-4956-0
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
But he himself also developed - later on, after being criticized - the counter-point, which is the idea of resistance and of critique. It was announced in the very last section of that chapter as 'le grondement de la bataille'.
So, yes Panopticum is a methaphor, but the picture in Discipline and Punish of modern society as a completely disciplined society is not a methapor and even not a (negative) ideal type, it is a generalizing diagnosis of what's going on in society.
yours
machiel karskens
----- "Nathaniel Roberts" <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: "Nathaniel Roberts" <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Mailing-list" <foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 9:48:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] Foucault on Panopticon
>
> The paper itself may be premised on a straw man.
>
> Did Foucault ever say the panopticon provided a "metaphor of modern
> society"? It is my understanding that the panopticon is just one
> example of
> *an ideal* that was current at a time when great faith was placed in
> disciplinary forms of power. And it is also one of the examples
> Foucualt
> gives to illustrate how disciplinary power works.
>
> But, for Foucault, modern society ≠ disciplinary power
>
> Disciplinary power is one form of power that operates in modern
> society. By
> the time of his lectures published under the title "Security,
> Territory,
> Population" Foucault was already moving away from the idea that a
> "disciplinary" age had replaced a previous age based on "sovereignty";
> the
> disciplines, legal power (or sovereignty) work together in the same
> age.
> These combine with a new form he initially called "security," and
> which he
> later came to call "governmentality."
>
> Nate
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 4:41 AM, Ali Rizvi <ali_m_rizvi@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Hi everyone,
> > Someone has asked me to post the following query to the group.
> Thanks for
> > any
> > help. Ali
> >
> > "I am currently doing an long project (10,000 words) on Focault and
> > analyzing the claim that the panopticon is a successful metaphor for
> > contemporary society. I am looking for strong criticisms to such a
> > claim and was wondering if you knew of any that I could read into."
> > _______________________________________________
> > Foucault-L mailing list
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Nathaniel Roberts
> Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
> Herman-Föge-Weg 11
> 37073 Göttingen
> Germany
> +49 (0) 551-4956-0
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list