Michel Foucault

Question 1

method that involves tracing the historical development of
concepts, institutions, and practices to uncover their contingent nature.
◦ The Archeology of Knowledge.

Answer 1

Genealogy

Question 2

knowledge is not just a neutral representation of reality
but a form of social control and influence.

Answer 2

Power/Knowledge

Question 3

refers to the overarching knowledge structures and rules that
govern a particular historical era.

Answer 3

Episteme

Question 4

represents a form of power in which individuals are
constantly aware of being observed, leading to self-regulation.

Answer 4

Panopticism

Question 5

the governance and management of populations as biological
entities.

Answer 5

Biopolitics

Question 6

◦ Traditional forms of punishment in Europe were extremely
brutal, visible, and aimed at obliterating the body.
◦ Foucault provides gruesome details of the public torture and
execution of Damiens in 1757, who was convicted of regicide.
◦ Foucault next describes measures dealing with plagues in the
middle-ages.
◦ Represented a transition from overt forms of control to subtle
forms of control, discipline, and surveillance.
◦ These changes set the stage for contemporary form of
disciplinary mechanisms—what he calls, “disciplinary society.”

Answer 6

Discipline and Punish

Question 7

◦ An architectural (and metaphor) design
where inmates are constantly visible to an
observer in a central tower.
◦ People must assume they are being
watched.
◦ Acts directly on the mind.
◦ A laboratory for studying humans.
◦ Avoids the need for overt, violent control.
◦ Its versatility makes it applicable in a wide
range of settings.
◦ It’s not always clear where power lies.

Answer 7

The Panopticon

Question 8

◦ Disciplinary mechanisms aim to make people more docile,
malleable, and useful for society through self-regulation.
◦ These mechanisms became pervasive throughout society.

Answer 8

Disciplinary Society
Discipline and Punish

Question 9

disciplines like the military, schools, and workshops became
techniques for making “useful” individuals, instead of just punishing

Answer 9

1. Functional inversion of disciplines
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 10

Disciplinary mechanisms are breaking out of the confined
disciplinary institutions and circulating more freely throughout society

Answer 10

2. The swarming of disciplinary mechanisms
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 11

The police apparatus took over many disciplinary functions
previously carried out by private or local groups

Answer 11

3. State control of disciplinary mechanisms:
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 12

Disciplines introduce asymmetries and exclusions that undermine the
universal, egalitarian juridical framework, acting as a “counter-law” that supports and extends class
domination

Answer 12

4. Disciplines as a “counter-law”
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 13

The combination and generalization of disciplinary
techniques allowed the formation of new fields of knowledge.
◦ See psychiatry, medicine, criminology, sociology.

Answer 13

5. Disciplines crossing the “technological threshold”
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 14

Penal justice shifted from punishing the
body of the criminal to disciplining the “disciplinary individual” through indefinite observation, examination,
and normalization.

Answer 14

6. Penetration of disciplinary examination into the judicial system:
   Rise of the Disciplinary Society

Question 15

Power in Foucault’s view is decentralized and
spread across various social networks (family, education, and healthcare), which
enforce norms and expectations through everyday interactions and practices

Answer 15

Power as a Network of Relationships
Foucault’s Conception of Power

Question 16

power “produces” reality, shaping social identities, norms,
and knowledge.
◦ In other words, power does not merely say “no” but actively constructs what
people understand about themselves and their sexuality.

Answer 16

Productive Role of Power
Foucault’s Conception of Power

Question 17

◦ Foucault posits that resistance is inherent to power, as power relationships create
and are shaped by counter-forces.
◦ This means resistance and power are constantly reshaping each other in
society, creating points of tension and conflict across various domains, from the
individual to the institutional level.

Answer 17

Resistance Within Power
Foucault’s Conception of Power

Question 18

◦ The “Repressive Hypothesis” Critique:
◦ Foucault disputes the view that society’s approach to sexuality is one
of repression.
◦ Instead, modern power structures encourage discourse on
sexuality, albeit in regulated forms.

Answer 18

History of Sexuality: Volume 1

Question 19

◦ Foucault argues that during the 17th and 18th centuries, Western societies
increasingly tied sexuality to social and economic concerns, rather than
leaving it as a purely personal matter.
◦ Led to policies that encouraged or discouraged certain sexual behaviors
based on their perceived impact on population and economic productivity.

Answer 19

Shift in Focus on Sexuality
History of Sexuality: Volume 1

Question 20

◦ Modern states began to manage populations by regulating bodies and
biological processes.

Answer 20

Bio-power:
History of Sexuality: Volume 1