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panopticon
panopticon This term was first used by Jeremy Bentham in 1791 to describe his idea of an ‘inspection house’ to be used for surveillance purposes in public institutions such as prisons, asylums, and workhouses. The panopticon was a circular construction of open single ‘cells’, built around a central inspection tower, by means of which both the inspector and the inmate were under constant surveillance. Michel Foucault discussed the idea at length in Discipline and Punish (1975) and describes the panopticon as an apparatus of power by virtue of the field of visibility it creates. Because it made inmates always conscious of being visible, he argued, an automatic functioning of power was ensured. As a consequence of constant surveillance, individuals became ensnared in an impersonal power relation which both disindividualized the power relationship itself, and individualized those subjected to it. Foucault saw this as an essential development in, and metaphor for, the increasing surveillance, hierarchy, discipline, and classifications of modern society, by means of which individuals became ever more regulated and controlled by impersonal institutions. The idea of the panopticon as discussed by Foucault has also been important and influential in recent theories of the gaze.
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GORDON MARSHALL. "panopticon." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. GORDON MARSHALL. "panopticon." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-panopticon.html GORDON MARSHALL. "panopticon." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-panopticon.html |
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Panopticon
Panopticon.
1. Building, especially a gaol, planned on the radiating principle, with wings branching from a central control-point, invented by Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). 2. Exhibition-room or show-room for novelties, etc. |
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Panopticon." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Panopticon." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Panopticon.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Panopticon." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Panopticon.html |
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panopticon
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T. F. HOAD. "panopticon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "panopticon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-panopticon.html T. F. HOAD. "panopticon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-panopticon.html |
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