1. Michel Foucault

2. Michel Foucault (1926–1984)
Born in France Educated during the occupation of France Moves to Paris in 1945 École Normale Supérieure d'Ulm From 1970 until his death head of Philosophy at the Collège de France Wrote about madness, sexuality, punishment, religion and language but everything was about…

3. POWER/knowledge
Power and knowledge are not seen as independent entities but are inextricably related thus, Power/Knowledge Knowledge is always an exercise of power and power always a function of knowledge. Power/knowledge not only limits what we can do, but also opens up new ways of acting and thinking about ourselves. Power works in seemingly mundane practices and ideas, which structure our personal experiences and senses of self. Discourse is an institutionalized way of speaking or writing about reality that defines what can be intelligibly thought and said about the world and what cannot. History of Sexuality – Sexuality has been monitored, cultivated, and often controlled by Power/Knowledge - Source:

4. Discipline
A key component of Power/Knowledge is discipline Foucault argues that discipline is a mechanism of power that regulates the thought and behavior of social actors through subtle means. Remember Machiavelli? Governments need to be somewhat brutish with discipline. Foucault argues that those in power utilize Power/Knowledge to discipline the individual. Surveillance In Discipline and Punish, Foucault argues that modern society is a “disciplinary society,”

5. The Panopticon
Jeremy Bentham (utilitarian) Advocated for more human rights …"it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong“. Designed a prison called a panopticon Prisoners control their own behaviour Why? Because they are always being watched.

7. Presidio Modelo, Cuba

9. So?
Why did Bentham believe this would work? So, what does this have to do with Foucault? He used it as a metaphor… Power works in seemingly mundane practices and ideas, which structure our personal experiences and senses of self. The structure of religion, language, laws, and even technology shape our sense of “self”. You change because of the structures that work around you. Thus, you need to use Power/Knowledge to escape from these structures.

10. The prisoner has a responsibility; a responsibility to be disciplined because he knows he’s being watched.

11. The government as panopticon
Big Brother The USA PATRIOT Act: Section U.S. phone records, Library records Text messages

12. The Corporate Panopticon
"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.“ Eric Schmidt (CEO Google)

13. How are you shaped by this surveillance?