Foucault: Discourse & Power
What did Foucault say about the docile body? (quotation)
"a body is docile that may be subjected, used, transformed and improved"
What did Foucault say about norms? (quotation)
"the power of the Norm appears through disciplines"
What did Foucault say about sexuality + mental illness?
"through various discourses, legal sanctions against minor perversions were multiplied; sexual irregularity was annexed to mental illness"
What can power not operate without? (according to Foucault)
- Discourse
How did the epistemic shift in the 18th-19th century affect sex?
- Led to classification & categorisation of sexual behaviours, used to point out deviance within sexuality.
Term: Foucauldian Discourse Analysis
A form of discourse analysis which focuses on power relationships in society as expressed through society & practices
What is the 'repressive hypothesis'?
A hypothesis that supposed that, since the rise of the bourgeoisie, any expenditure of energy on purely pleasurable activities has been frowned upon.
Who was Jeremy Bentham?
A philosopher who, in 1971, wrote the treatus on the Panopticon
What is Discipline?
A proactive power; a system which is able to animate control, doesn't allow for over-stepping of boundaries
What does Foucault claim that the Panopticon is?
Claims it is an architectural model on how power operates in a modern society
What is discourse, according to Foucault?
Discourse, for a time, defines the truth of society
What is deployment of sexuality?
Formed by society 18th century; a complex set of codes that control how much we understand & talk about our sexual desires & actions
What is knowledge?
Having a wider understanding of concepts, acquired normally through education + institutions; awareness; awareness of their capability to have power
What does normalisations do to the proper + improper?
Holds the improper up against the proper, defining the threats to functions in society
What is Genealogy?
Looks at the same substrate of knowledge but investigates those elements which we "tend to feel [are] without history"
What is a 'docile body'?
One who is doing exactly what society intends them to do; it is produced/made.
How do disciplines relate to the norm?
Power of the norm appears through disciplines
How did sovereignty prevent misconduct?
Public punishment, instils fear.
What is the Foucaultian definition of power?
Something that requires there to be an oppressed 'other'; corruption & gain, unequal structure.
What is Biopower?
Strategies in which human life is managed
How does power target the body?
Targets the body (docile bodies) to make it part of the system. - Keeps the system functioning
What is a subject?
The one who power is designed to control; subjects are animated through their relationship to discourse
What is sexology?
The scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviours and functions.
How does the Panopticon create self-modification?
Through politics of visibility - those in the cells fearing they are constantly being watched
What is archaeology?
Uncovering discursive traces left by the past in order to write a 'history of the present' - you can't understand the present until you look into the past