Foucault's Discipline and Punish begins with two description's of criminal treatment. One of these describes the brutal torture and execution of the regicide Damien, while the other describes a strict daily schedule for prisoners. While both are remarkable for their own reasons, it is the historical relationship between the two that Foucault draws attention to. Looking at these two penal methods, it is obvious that one is more familiar to us today. The well regimented and organized schedule shown to contrast the treatment of Damien seems both more "humane" and more "ethical". While the method used to punish the regicide looks as if it must be from some by-gone era. The reality is that these two examples of penal method are separated by a mere 80 years.
Foucault then describes the changes that occurred starting with the public torture and execution of Damien. Emphasis would slowly move away from gruesome slow tortures like the breaking of the body or the quartering by a team of horses to more 'clean' and efficient ways of killing like the infamous guillotine. Not only would the method of execution change, but the status of the criminal would change as well. Where Damien was paraded openly into the town square and dispensed as a spectacle, later criminals would be veiled and guillotined behind high walls and out of the public eye.
From our more contemporary perspectives it might seem, at first, that Foucault is highlighting the civilizing of our penal systems; however, this is not his intent. He is showing that in this movement away from punishing the body the punishment is directed inwards, towards the 'soul'. The disciplined criminal is moved out of the sight of the public eye, veiled, watched, and controlled down to the smallest detail; the criminal is dehumanized. As opposed to deterring the criminal by setting an example for the public through the sheer violence of execution, it is the inevitability of discipline that is relied on instead.
As Foucault describes the change in criminal treatment, he shows how the opinion of the day is directing that change. That is to show that the change in the penal system is not an isolated affair, it is a direct reflection of the content of thought in those times. By dissecting the transition from punishment to discipline, Foucault wishes to show that institutions and people are made up of the thought that pervades their time. In a way, he wants to show that the person is truly historical.
In my senior seminar project, I aim to discover how well this type of investigation works in deciphering the changes in the institution of education and those that participate in it.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: Random House, 1997. 3-31.
Logan,
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to see where your research takes you! When I think of pivotal changes in education and its affect on students, I tend to think of Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Before this decision, many believed that the school system was in control of student expression; like a parent, school staff was believed to be in charge of conduct and behavior. Afterward, this perception drastically shifted when the court ruled that, "students (n)or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
While this instance is different than what Foucault was discussing with Damien's punishment and the 80-year shift to discipline, I believe it shares the commonality of a shift in societal thinking.
Very interesting Logan. I look forward to seeing what else you publish. I really am interested in this because in my research I am looking at the American complaints against the British crown, therefore I hope I can cite your blog when I write about the 8th Amendment of the Constitution!
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