Essays on Foucault

The article “Feminism, Foucault, and Subjects of Power and Freedom” by Jana Sawicki focuses on Foucault’s research and his ideas regarding feminism that he was promoting during his academic career. Sawicki discusses the different ways of resistance that were promoted by Foucault, and how modern feminists are incorporating them in their political work. While Foucault’s masculinity was not favored by others during his career, his methods were still seen to be very useful. Sawicki divided her article into three parts: Introduction, “Feminism and Foucault: Critique, Convergence and Possibility” and “The Late Foucault on Subjectivity, Power, and Freedom”. ...

Fundamentally, Foucault defines discourse as the approach of constituting know-how, together with social behaviors, forms of subjectivity, and power relations. He recounts that discourse is a culturally created presentation of reality. In his study of sexuality, he notes that tight controls were placed on discourse about sex in the emergence of the bourgeoisie in the 17th century, which led to the control of sex at speech level (Foucault 17). He associates sex and discourse in the sense that new discourse of sexuality had transformed the way people think, desire, and their inner self. Primarily, he recounts that discourses about ...

CBS News

July 18 Ethics and Hospital Care Carmen Foucault, 47, is a woman who not only grief is her son’s death but also accusing of the local hospital for engaging in a heartless behavior with her and her son who died there. The woman contacts me to give her testimony, and we agree to meet at a local restaurant for an interview. I see a mixture of anger and sadness from her expression as she describes her son to me. Her son’s name is James Foucault, a young man who just turned 24, a vet who served in ...

Architecture and any other form of artistry call for the following of certain processes for an artist to achieve given artistic goals. This theme is clearly seen through Gilles Deleuze’s “The Diagramme” and Michel Foucault’s “Panopticism”. In both cases, the aspect of organization is emphasized on with Foucault suggesting a more structured approach to artistry, while Deleuze calls for the establishment of a more liberal architectural thought. Panopticism by Foucault is a concept of how power can be centralized and applied in architectural work. Based on the early practices of cities hit by plagues, Foucault explains that ...

Dr

Assignment 1

WR Assignment Guiding Question: How does the communication styles effect relationships Integrated Summary: Communication or conversational style is the way in which people interact and communicate with others through verbal and non-verbal mediums. It is the purposeful way of sharing information in which the receiver may not exactly understand what the communicator has to say. It may be due to cultural or language differences (Gareis, Merkin & Goldman, 2011). Hence, stress, noise, misunderstandings and conflicts need to be removed from communication process and channel to improve the bond of friendship or acquaintance or relationship between the people. Communication style ...

In Parts one and Two of Volume One of Michael Foucault’s Philosophy on Sexuality, he analyses and distances himself from what he calls “Repression Hypothesis,” using our desire to analyze and investigate the “science” of our sexual behavior, our need to confess what we deem sexual immorality, and the productive nature of the relationship of sex to power and knowledge, as the key elements of his argument. A definition of “Repression Hypothesis” is necessary for us to understand further why Foucault rejects it. According to American philosopher and University of California, Berkeley professor of Philosophy, Hurbert Dryfus, and ...

Michael Foucault once said that “visibility is a trap”, which describes the best how panopticon works (Milchman and Rosenberg 18). While Jeremy Bertham’s idea of Panopticon initially concerned only the layout of a prison, the metaphor of his concept shed the light to the methods of power and control in the society. Back in 18th century Bertham proposed to replace physical abuse and torture of inmates by an innovative layout of prison that would allow one watchman to observe all prisoners, which may or may not know that they are observed (Semple 38). Further on, Foucault developed the ...

Since the adoption of the Patriot Act 2 on October 2001, strict measures such as the detention of foreigners suspected of a security breach, electronic surveillance of individuals through databases, authentication identities through biometrics, technologization border controls, among others, are presented in political discourse of the USA. The US security and media are the latest techniques in the fight against terrorism. Most Americans feel that these measures are contemporary to the fight against terrorism. In fact, this impression is the product of the effects of language games made by the administration and the media as the rhetoric and imagery ...

Is Knowledge Power?

Is Knowledge Power?

Humans are perpetual thinkers and doers. We ask questions, inquire about things and make decisions. Questions give rise to answers and answers lead the way to knowledge. A man who knows something has an advantage over the man who knows nothing. Knowledge of a subject gives us an edge over the others. Knowledge empowers the seeker to make informed decisions (Hall, 2001). It empowers us to be ready for the future and be able to control the anticipatory events (Brown, 1989). Power and strength without knowledge is absolute blind and a blind giant cannot win battles ...

With the increasing number of sexual encounters among adolescents at an early age and the saturation of sex in all major media channels, sex education is becoming an important part of the education system that can prepare young people to better understand sex and promote responsible sex behaviors. However, sex education is not mandatory in the United States on the federal level, so each state is required to develop its own policies concerning sex education (Weaver, Smith & Kippax, 2005, p. 176). The lack of laws regulating sex education on a federal level can lead to many problems with sex ...

The idea behind Foucault's theory of power structures is that power is what makes society what it is. Power exists everywhere and comes from man's concept of what his or her definition of everywhere is. Given that power is derived from everywhere, it is not a structure, but rather an overarching influence that exists in society. The idea of power according to Foucault is intertwined with the subject of knowledge. Using the term, power/knowledge, Foucault identifies that the concept of power is accepted in society through the idea that within knowledge lies truth. Truth, to Foucault is what induces ...

Prisons are vital in a society since it is part of the country’s criminal justice system. It plays crucial part in ensuring that offenders are brought to justice and that the rule of the law is upheld. It is general knowledge that the prisoners experience gross violations of their basic human rights. The traditional ideas about prisons include appalling suffering and maltreatment of prisoners. However, there are new principles that are applied today changed the environments of prisons. In the US, there are various reformations about prisons that looks upon the context of human rights. Reformation of the ...

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Plagiarism is often committed by many students, whether they intend to do so or not. In some cases, even professional writers fall in the trap of plagiarism because some tend to forget about the writing rules that govern it. By understanding how plagiarism happens, one may be able to avoid this mistake. Plagiarism can happen either intentionally or unintentionally. For instance, if a writer forgets to cite the resource he used, it can be considered as unintentional plagiarism. Here is an example: Some anti-psychiatrists believe that mental disorders are social constructions. To these anti-psychiatrists, including Foucault, Laing, ...

There’s No Such Thing as Society

Everything around us from our devices and gadgets we cannot live without to factories and corporations is our society. Peoples’ behavior, interactions, and choices form, or construct, the society. At the same time, the society through the social structure with norms and regulations has its own significant effect on people. It means that society forms the way people think, determine their role in society, the way people imagine themselves and the way they are perceived and understood by others. Actually, people don't usually ask how works society and do not question their behavior and choices they made every day, ...

Different social theories claim that every behavior can be modified to a better one. Panopticism is one of these theories, which has its origins in the book “Discipline and Punish” by Michel Foucault. The french philosopher spent a lot of years examining human behaviors and trying to find ways how to improve it, make it better and easier for others to understand. He collected his knowledge in the book and presented it to society, which should change after got acquainted with the message of the book. He used the panopticon to illustrate the tendency of subjugating citizens by disciplinary ...

With the evolvement of the society, increase of our Planet’s population and accessibility of gained information the number of times the news about occurred serial killings escalates. It is logical to assume that the general number of active serial killers increases with time at least due to the statistical approach to the question. Based on the conducted research this work will explain what makes a serial killer kill on the example of a fictional character form a popular TV show Dexter Morgan. In order to understand the serial killer’s actions the paper will examine all of the ...

The Role of Advertising in Perpetuating Gender Inequalities

The social structures have always been producing social inequalities. In modern society, this trend still exists. Despite the fact that stereotyped thinking is the basis of human thinking, they (stereotypes) should be constantly revised, as they are constantly losing their relevance. However, most people use stereotypes and think accordingly without taking into account that some things are no longer relevant. Such thinking, in fact, leads to a perception of social inequality as a normal thing. Most of the social inequality is noticed in gender issues. Given that the government and the country`s culture usually dictates many of the ...

Symbolic interaction emphasizes the constructed and negotiated aspect of self and social life. As a result it draws attention away from analyses of the structural and institutional features of society. How can some of the key concept (there are at least 10, work with 5) in this framework be used to explore stratification systems and relations of domination and the subordination they sustain. Stratification is based upon the arrangement of groups in social hierarchy which can remain over generations due to the presence of inequality. It includes division of groups according to the caste system, on the basis of ...

Introduction

While the political avant-garde of modernist movement had a celebration of dissidence and proceeded to advocate a revolution of art and contemporary life, postmodern art delightfully exist in a world that shows the pluralism of atheistic manner and way of play. Art hardly ever functions on a critical level: the political prospect becomes separate from contemporary art functions. Postmodern art turns to represent not only the consumer society that we live but also a privileged commodity. In the 1960s, "committed" art had turned to be the pillar if artistic postmodernism. Gender issues, class, and race become central particularly following ...

1.Michel Foucault distinguishes between Sovereign Power and Disciplinary Power. (a)What are the essential elements of each type of power? (b) How would Foucault interpret Weber’s distinction between Catholicism and Calvinism? (c) How would Foucault assess Durkheim’s distinction between Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity? Michel Foucault’s philosophy is directly related to the concepts of power and security within a society. As such, Foucault frequently discusses the ways in which individuals should be punished for crimes against their society, and the parties that should be responsible for said punishment. The two chief types of power Foucault defines ...

Iran Revolution of 1979

Abstract The Iranian Revolution of 1979 involved the popular uprising in Iran against the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. This paper examines many of the leading explanations for the uprising, including the rise of militant Islam, structural weaknesses of the Shah regime, the coalition of three important social groups (e.g. woman, youth, and the intelligentsia), the composition of the reform movement, and the effect of the Shah’s policies of accommodation and repression, to name a few. This paper also draws on leading theories in social movement theory, contemporary field work involving discussions with the Mullahs and their ...

The Concept of Docile Bodies

Foucault defined docile bodies as flexible objects upon which disciplinary forces are acted, with each object being a node in an intricate and complicated field where power is arranged as well as controlled. In expanding on the concept of docile bodies, Foucault relied on the case of soldiers and their adaptability to the conditions imposed on them which makes them be recognized through their marching, the alert manner in which they behaved - erect head and the broad shoulders. This implies that even the recruits would be trained on how to acquire characteristics of a soldier making them able ...

How the State and Its Institutions Perpetuate the Systemic Exclusion and Subsequent Punishment of Radicalized, Sexed, or Gendered Groups

According to Brown, institutional racism is common in the societies we live in today, and sadly the situation my not change soon because the practice is perpetuated by the state and its institutions (2009). In essence, the practice is getting worse, as the world embracing capitalism and moral decay is almost at its peak. The minority groups face loads of injustice from the state and in the communities; they live in (Brown 2009). These individuals also need protection, but instead, the society uses their vulnerability for the greater harm. These individuals often suffer in silence because they have no ...

Brown’s work is a clarion call to democratic action. Advanced democracies today have always tried to think rationally about the neoliberal government. The article seeks to explore the nature of transformation for both an individual and state in neoliberalism into self-standing entrepreneurial units which may be compelled to contend for investment in other such units. Therefore, this is defined as the eclipse of homo politicus by the all-encompassing political figure of homo economicus. The primary aim of the book as the title indicates is to explain that neoliberalism has continued to render the democratic and independent political agency ...

Introduction

Over the years, several researchers have consistently argued that religion play a bigger role in any form of economic development (Neill, 2010). Some have pointed out to the issue by claiming that the role is quite conspicuous and cannot be overlooked, well, the subject remains an issue of controversy; it attracts diverse opinions from all walks of life. However, several inquiries into the study have indeed pointed towards the direction, above all, they conclude by citing a close proximity between religions and the economic spur (Michael, 2012). Most importantly, some of these researchers have proposed that the topic of ...

Analysis of the Book "The Medicalization of Society" By Peter Conrad

The Main Author's Arguments Peter Conrad, the author of the book "The Medicalization of Society," conducts a study of the most common problems of the modern society, which essence and nature have changed and obtained a medical character over the past 10-20 years. In other words, the author examines the social problems that have become the diagnoses at the beginning of the 21st century, though they were not related to medicine even a decade ago. At the very beginning of the book, Conrad emphasizes the investigated phenomenon, claiming that his analysis is connected only with the social connotations of ...

Instituion

1. What is the potential impact of supersonic transports (SSTs) on the ozone layer? An alarming ozone loss has been reported in the past decades, and studies showed that this global problem is attributed largely to human activities. Advancement in technology resulted in the development of high-speed air transport that are economically competitive compared to other forms of aircrafts. There is, however, the associated risk that supersonic transports can impact in the destruction of the ozone layer due to the large amount of atmospheric pollution that it emits. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology carried a study on the possible ...

In looking at how disciplinary power is used in order to discipline individuals into obeying the State it is evident that there were various values that arose in modern society that presented the need to replace these methods. Analysis of the forms and practices of punishment and surveillance according to the theories of Foucault and Nietzsche demonstrate that these methods were often implemented through the power and authority of the state itself and the punishments that were adopted were done so in relation to the values and principles of the ruling class. In developing these distinctions, an understanding of ...

In this essay, women are not equal to men. Nature has it, from time immemorial, that the two can and will never be equal. Even though feminism tries to make the equality a reality by trying to secure similar rights as those of men, it shall never be achieved. Maybe in the virtual life, equality can be achieved but not in the physical life.

A tool that is used to make rules and regulations and to determine the course of life is power (Lukes 1974 and 2005, and Connolly 1983). It is true beyond any reasonable doubt that this tool ...