Jails

1
Jails
2
Understanding The Panopticon Within the Context
of the Jailing System

• Each person who is under supervision within a
  panoptic structure is constantly visible to the
  supervisor. Furthermore, by virtue of being
  located in their individual cells, the inmates
  are thoroughly individualized. The surveillance
  of the supervisor is both constant and immediate.
  The people are not lonely trapped by virtue of
  isolation, but they are also trapped by virtue of
  their visibility. The panopticon is a mechanism
  that ensures the efficient expression of power
  relations (Foucault 1979).

3
Understanding The Panopticon Within the Context
of the Jailing System

• Matters of power within our everyday lives in
  relation to our social environment have been
  evaluated in numerous ways.
• Michele Foucault, a key scholar within the area
  of social studies has provided an in-depth
  analysis of this idea of power in our everyday
  lives.
• Foucault further advanced the ideas of punishment
  and discipline by analyzing the older regime of
  punishment. By having an understanding of this
  old regime, Foucault was also able to apply
  Jeremy Benthams panoptic structure to new ideas
  of punishment and discipline within the prison
  system (See figure 1.1).

4

• Figure 1.1 Picture of the panopticon. The
  supervisor is placed within the central tower and
  those to be supervised are placed individually in
  the peripheral building.

5
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages
6
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• The account of discipline and punishment within
  the jailing system has been researched in several
  distinguished studies.
• These studies include the early stages of the
  jailing system and the idea of the panopticon.
• Understanding these studies will allow us to have
  a clearer understanding of the formation of the
  jailing system and its relation to the panoptic
  structure.
• Two of the key characters that are important to
  mention are Jeremy Bentham and Michel Foucault,
  both of whom will allow us to have a clearer
  understanding of the jailing system in the early
  18th century.
• The ideas of discipline and punishment within the
  jailing system have been told in many ways.
• Jeremy Bentham created the structure of the
  panopticon and Michel Foucault furthered the idea
  of the panoptic structure by analyzing the power
  dynamics that surround this model (See Figure 1.2
  and 1.3).

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Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• The assessment of the early jailing system in the
  18th century could be considered to be extremely
  detrimental.
• At this time individuals who committed wrongful
  acts were labeled as Damiens.
• The important event of regicide on the Damiens
  was considered to be irrational and brute
  coercion according to Foucault.
• At this time, torture was considered to be the
  ritual for sustaining power. In regards to this
  old regime of power, its important to note that
  
• On 2 March 1757, Damiens the regicide was
  condemned 'to make the amend honorable before the
  main door of the Church of Paris,' where he was
  to be 'taken and conveyed in a cart, wearing
  nothing but a shirt, holding a torch of burning
  wax weighing two pounds' then, 'in the said
  cart, to the Place de Grève, where, on a scaffold
  that will be erected there, the flesh will be
  torn from his breasts, arms, thighs and calves
  with red-hot pincers, his right hand, holding the
  knife with which he committed the said parricide,
  burnt with sulphur, and, on those places where
  the flesh will be torn away, poured molten lead,
  boiling oil, burning resin, wax and sulphur
  melted together and then his body drawn and
  quartered by four horses and his limbs and body
  consumed by fire, reduced to ashes and his ashes
  thrown to the winds (Sheridan 3).

8
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• Foucault felt that inscribing politics on the
  body and using the body as the locus of the state
  was inhumane to human society.
• Believing in this act of humanity, Foucault
  wanted to shift the focus of punishment from the
  body and direct it to the mind.
• He wanted to present this analysis to the
  prisoners, and in doing so, as rational human
  beings, he felt that they would avoid committing
  major illegalities in the first place (Sheridan
  3).

9
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• The 19th century was a time of change in the
  jailing system.
• The shadows of cells and the new prison apparatus
  replaced the gruesome acts of torture.
• The new model of the jailing system had
  characteristics of rationality, civility, and
  humanity.
• Through this transformation, it is appropriate to
  introduce the panoptic model.
• The panopticon can be considered as an apparatus
  that creates discipline.
• This idea was first created by Jeremy Bentham in
  1971. He considered this to be invisible
  surveillance of a large number of people, while a
  selected small group of people watch this large
  group of people (prisoners).

10
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• In relation to this idea of the panopticon,
  Foucault sees the panopticon as the following
  The panopticon has two main features the
  central tower and a peripheral ring that
  surrounds the tower (Moffat 224).
• The tower is constructed so that each individual
  (prisoner) is securely restricted to a cell from
  which he/she can be seen by a supervisor, while
  the side walls restrict him from seeing his
  inmates/companions. He is seen, but he does not
  see he is the object of information, never a
  subject in communication (Sheridan 18).
• In addition,
• a supervisor is placed within the central tower,
  and those who are to be supervised are placed
  individually in each cell. The people to be
  supervised in this case are criminals. The window
  on the outside of the cell allows for light to
  cross the cell. The cell is backlight by light
  from outside the building. With the aid of
  backlighting, the supervisor can observe the
  movement of the inmate to the smallest detail and
  with great precision (Moffat 224).

11
Understanding the Panopticon in Relation to the
Jail in its Beginning Stages

• According to Foucault, the major effect of the
  panopticon is to induce in the inmate a conscious
  state of consciousness and permanent visibility
  that assures the automatic functioning of power
  (Sheridan 21).
• Furthermore, to format things so that
  surveillance is continuous in its effects, the
  perfection of power should tend to maintain its
  power (Sheridan 21) over the prisoners. In this
  case, the architectural apparatus should be a
  device for creating and sustaining power over the
  inmates.
• With this idea Foucault believes that prisoners
  will ultimately be wedged with an increased lack
  of power in relation to others. It is assumed
  that this form of punishment and discipline will
  suspend the prisoners form of personal
  independence and will help discourage prisoners
  from committing future crimes.

12

• Figure 1.2 Jeremy Bentham, creator of the
  panopticon.

13

• Figure 1.3 Michele Foucault, furthered the idea
  of the panopticon.

14
The Panoptic Structure 21st Century Examples of
Power Relations Within Society

• The panoptic model, introduced in the early 19th
  century was used to monitor the behavior of
  prison inmates. At this particular time in
  history, computers were completely non-existent.
  In todays society, there are various instruments
  used in exercising discipline, punishment and
  power. Today, it is much more convoluted than
  just placing prisoners in secluded cells. Some of
  these instruments include

15
Internet Usage

• Since post 911, internet users are consistently
  being monitored.
• The FBI (U.S) often monitors e-mail information
  and the internet sites individuals visit.

16
Debit Machines

• When you are making transactions you are
  constantly being monitored by a surveillance
  camera.
• Recently, studies have shown that fraud is
  formulated from this form of surveillance.

17
Student Loans

• Once the Awards Office inserts your S.I.N card
  number into the computer, pertinent information
  about that person is immediately revealed.

18
Physical Appearance/ Religious Groups

• There tends to be stigmas attached to these
  particular areas.
• Police have a tendency to watch you and in most
  cases, you dont even realize that you are being
  watched.
• For example Members of minority groups tend to
  be largely stigmatized in society. When a young
  Black male is driving an expensive car, they are
  more likely to be pulled over than a Caucasian
  male.
• Religious groups post 911, have been the main
  focus for the FBI (U.S.). Muslims and
  individuals who looked in a certain way are often
  the primary focus of harassment in the United
  States today.

19
Hospitals

• Within the medical profession, Doctors have
  access to all personal information on their
  patients. Doctors could withhold information
  from a patient, thus controlling the fate of the
  patient.
• Doctor/Patient confidentiality (But, is it really
  confidential?)

20
Government

• They are able to pull up any personal files on
  every aspect of ones life.
• They also hold information that no average
  individual has access too.

21
Psychiatric wards

• The set up of the psychiatric wards separate the
  patients from the professionals.
• The professionals constantly observe and monitor
  the patients.
• Through this observation they are able to create
  psycho analysis reports.

22
Celebrities

• They are constantly being watched by paparazzi.
• With this, the personal lives of celebrities are
  consistently being invaded by the media.

23
Telephones

• Depending on the investigation and the case,
  police can tap into any individuals phone
  conversations

24
Distribution of Marks in Universities

• Within the university system, grades are
  constantly being distributed to the students.
• Instructors have a certain academic quota that
  they are expected to follow and a specific amount
  of different grades they are able to distribute.
  
• Professors and university administration then
  have power over students and ultimately their
  grades.

25
Retail Stores

• When an individual goes into a shopping mall,
  they are always being monitored to deter
  shoplifting.
• This method of surveillance often makes wrongful
  accusations against people.
• For example If you look a certain way and make
  certain gestures in the mall/store, you can be
  considered to shoplifting or attempting to do so.

26
Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System
27
Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• English philosopher Jeremy Benthams proposed
  architectural innovation designed to lead to
  safe, humane prisons in 1791 has substantially
  assisted in the study of social and economic
  power amongst numerous scholars within society as
  a whole. Specifically, Bentham defined the
  panopticon in an architectural form as a jail or
  place of punishment in which the exercise of
  power would be both more economical and
  effective (Moffatt 224).
• Otherwise known as the all- seeing place, the
  panopticon was designed to provide complete
  observation of every prisoner within the jail
  (Engberg 1).
• The way in which the panopticon is structured
  works to aid in the assumption that the panoptic
  structure can effectively be applied to the idea
  of power relations within are society today.
• Being that the structure of the jail is in direct
  correlation with the structure of the panopticon,
  it becomes increasingly evident that the jailing
  system and its structure is imperative in trying
  to understand this idea of social and economic
  power in society (See Figure 1.4).

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Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• Bentham's central goal of the panopticon was
  control through both isolation and the
  possibility of constant surveillance. It was
  Benthams belief that a prisoner will constrain
  his or her own behavior with the knowledge that
  some guard may be observing every action,
  regardless of whether anyone is watching at a
  given moment. Bentham found this Utilitarian
  ideal of oppressive self-regulation to be
  appealing in many other social settings,
  including schools, hospitals, and poor houses
  (Engberg 1).

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Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• Many scholars have successfully illustrated how
  the panoptic structure can be directly related to
  our everyday social environments.
• Scholars maintain that there are panoptic
  structures all around us in our immediate
  environments.
• In addition, they assert that this particular
  structure works to maintain control over
  individuals and their actions through constant
  surveillance and in many cases, isolation.
• Specifically, many assert that the panopticon is
  a mechanism that ensures the efficient expression
  of power relations (Moffat 224).
• This particular conviction has been the subject
  of numerous critical debates.

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Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• Michel Foucault and his theories are essential in
  understanding the panoptic structure in relation
  to power in our everyday social lives.
• Foucault has contributed substantially to this
  area of study and ultimately furthered the
  earlier work of Jeremy Bentham.
• Foucault seized on the idea of a controlling
  space and applied it as a metaphor for the
  oppressive use of information in a modern
  disciplinary society.
• He observed that control no longer requires
  physical domination over the body, but can be
  achieved through isolation and the constant
  possibility of observation (Engberg 1).
• It is Foucaults assertion that because
  individuals in society are constantly being
  surveyed within various areas of their lives,
  they consequently alter their actions and
  behaviors to conform to what their societal
  expectations are.
• Engberg supports this idea in the following
  statement Physical intimidation is hardly even
  relevant in an information society where people
  need to regulate their own behavior to escape the
  constant threat of detection (1).
• Foucault directly relates this idea to the
  panoptic structure and the jail, because control
  of individuals through the constant surveillance
  of individuals, in his opinion is directly
  related to different realms of daily life.

31
Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• The jail was constructed as a form of punishment
  for criminals, while allowing the constant
  surveillance of these criminals by selected
  groups and individuals.
• Foucault believes that the idea of the
  all-seeing, which comes in the form of literal
  observation through cameras in public spaces and
  electronic monitoring of individuals such as
  workers, patients and prisoners, can also be seen
  as a more figurative element.
• This figurative element maintains the view that a
  society is being constructed where all behavior
  will be sharply regulated through the fear of
  theoretical observation by some oppressive entity
  (Engberg 1).

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Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• The imperative question here is What are the
  possible effects of certain individuals (usually
  of power) having access to specific information
  that others within society may not have similar
  access to?
• In addition, what can be said of the society in
  which we live, when we are being scrutinized in
  practically every area of our social environment?
  
• In an age where cameras and videotapes have
  become increasingly popular, the ability for one
  to be monitored without having any idea, has
  increased profoundly.
• The power of surveillance has encroached on areas
  of our lives that many are not aware of (See
  section on the Panoptic Structure 21st Century
  Examples of Power Relations Within Society).
• Foucault avers that in modern society, our
  spaces are organized "like so many cages, so many
  small theatres, in which each actor is alone,
  perfectly individualized and constantly visible.
  
• We are seen without seeing our controllers --
  information is available on us without any
  communication (Engberg 1).
• Foucault and numerous other scholars have found
  this to be extremely problematic for todays
  society.

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Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• In summary, it is evident that the panopticon as
  a structure can definitely be applied to our
  everyday social lives.
• Although many scholars, including Michel Foucault
  only utilize the idea of the panoptic structure
  to assist in illustrating how power is delegated
  to specific individuals who possess precise
  information about various people.
• This is extremely problematic because many of
  these monitored individuals are unaware of the
  fact that they are being monitored.
• Several theorists claim that this reinforces
  power relations, leaving individuals with the
  means of holding certain information over others
  with an increased amount of power.

34
Michel Foucaults Theory in Relation to Power and
the Jailing System

• In addition, theorists argue that the system of
  constant surveillance over individual actions in
  all realms within society help to control,
  discipline and maintain specific expected results
  by people in powerful positions.
• It aids in maintaining a particular kind of
  society, by prescribing specific consequences to
  those individuals who act outside of whats
  expected of them.
• The fact of the matter is, the purpose of making
  individuals aware of that their constantly being
  examined, helps to deter unwanted actions and
  create a certain society.
• The idea is to prescribe specific actions on
  people, by instilling the fear of being caught
  into their subconscious minds.
• Specifically, Foucault maintains that without
  any physical instrument other than architecture
  and geometry, the Panopticon acts directly on
  individuals it gives power of mind over mind
  (Engberg 1).

35

• Figure 1.4 A closer look at the panopticon
  within the jailing system.

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The End
37
Bibliogrophy

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38
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