Panopticon

From Geography

The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham designed the Panopticon in 1785, this a type of prison building. According to Bentham, the Panopticon was "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example." (Bentham,1787) The Panopticon is a circular space. All prison cells have a small window that gives a view on a tower in the middle of the circular building. In this tower a prison keeper is located. On the other side of the prison cells there are small windows with a view to the sky. The prisoners cannot see each other, they can only see the tower in the middle of the prison with the guard keeper. They feel the constant surveillance of one prison keeper. This illustrates a power difference between the prisoners and the prison keeper: there is one who sees all, and all who see only one.The prisoner internalizes the guard and acts as if the guard was always there. The prisoners do not need to be constantly observed, but they behave like the guard sees them constantly.(Kramsch lecture 17-09-2010).

The Panopticon was also intended to be cheaper than other prisons, because it required fewer staff. During the lifetime of Bentham the model of his Panopticon was never realized in practice. But it has been seen as an important development. Michel Foucault was interested in this kind of prisons, because it is a perfect example of how the government is invisible, but still has his influence on the society. He for instance invoked the Panopticon model as metaphor for modern "disciplinary" societies and their pervasive inclination to observe and normalize. According to Foucault (1983), all hierarchical structures are altered through history to resemble Bentham's Panopticon. Examples of these hierarchical structures are: prisons, schools, the army, factories and hospitals.

The prison Presidio Modelo on the Isla de la Juventud in Cuba is a model prison of Panopticon built between 1926-1928 (Digital Panorama S.A., 2004) There are five circulars built, with the capacity to humanely house up to 2,500 prisoners. Fidel Castro was imprisoned here. The prison now serves as a museum and is declared as a National Monument. Panopticon-inspired prisons in the Netherlands are Koepelgevangenis, dome-prisons, in Arnhem, Breda and Haarlem.

References:

Digital Panorama S.A., 2004 : http://www.cuba-museums.com/en/isla_de_la_juventud.asp accessed on 20.09.2010

Foucault, M. (1983) afterword: the subject and power. In: Dreyfus, H.L. & Rabinow, P.Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 208-226.

Bentham, J. (1787) The Panopticon Writings. Ed. Miran Bozovic (London: Verso, 1995). p. 29-95

Published by Sabrina Willems and Anouk Soomers