Discipline

From Geography

Discipline was a major factor in Michel Foucaults thought. Foucault challenged the widely accepted idea that prisons became the consistent form of punishment due to humanitarian concerns of reformists. Foucault added that it was more than this, that culture shifts also played a role in the dominance of prison as a form of discipline. Foucault argues that discipline creates docile bodies and in order to construct such docile bodies the institute that disciples such as a prison, must constantly observe these bodies. so observation leads to docile bodies. Foucault believed that discipline, not through excessive force but through observation and molding the bodies to certain way of thinking was the best form of discipline. This coincides with the the idea of the panopticon as it allows for constant observation and that the prisoners are less likely to rule break if they think they are being watched. Foucault published a book "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" in 1975. in this book he examines discipline and the changes in the western prison system that was emerging in the 17th and 18th centuries.

References:

Dreyfus, H.L, and Rabinow, P (1983) Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics; University of Chicago Press

Philo (2000) Foucault's Geography

Michel de Certeau (1984) The Practice of Everyday Life; University of California Press

Unknown Author (2011) http://en.wikipedia.org. Discipline and Punish [Electronic version]

Published by: --SamanthaHazlett 13:00, 1 October 2011 (UTC)