Power geometry

From Geography

The French philosopher Michel Foucault has written a lot about 'power'. In his book 'Discipline and punish' he describes the physical and psychical control over individuals achieved through the manipulation of spatial relation in Bentham's notorious 'Panopticon' (Philo, 2000, p.222).

Foucault is seen by many people as the ‘geometer of power’. Just like the panopticon, Foucault argues that this space is loaded with authority which keeps that space under surveillance. Individuals are fixed in the panopticon according to a certain system of registration. This is a form of power, because people’s decisions, which are based on their knowledge, are being held under surveillance . So, individuals are being observed in a central space (such as the panopticon) in which power is exercised without division, according to a hierarchical figure. This panoptic mechanism is a way of making power relations function (Foucault, 1975).

Power in general is always concentrated at one specific space and it is spread through different channels in space, where power is also used, but in less extent. This patern of power is present everywhere through space. Foucault charted the scientific laws governing its geometries, which were underlying to this patern of power and he analyzed it to explain social life of human being (Philo, n.d, p.223).

References:

- Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. Vinddatum 28 oktober. Url: http://www.esubjects.com/curric/general/world_history/unit_three/pdf/L11_Discipline_and_Publish_ch3.pdf

- Philo, C. (2000). Foucault's geography. In: Crang, M. & Thrift, N. (eds.) Thinking space. Routledge, London.

Made by Christine Hutting and Milou Pollemans