File spoon-archives/foucault.archive/foucault_1994/F-4, message 17


Date: Thu, 17 Nov 1994 12:32:14 -0500 (EST)
From: jrv7472 <jrv7472-AT-is.NYU.EDU>
To: foucault-AT-world.std.com
Subject: Re: Self-Regulating Glaswegians


I have found the discussion of the new vidoe monitors in Glasgow 
intriguing and I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
{My apologies for the typos in the message, my editor is screwing up.}

How Much of this is panoptical in the sense that Bentham meant for the 
panopticon to work, where individuals were being observed, or they 
thought themselves observed, so that they disciplined themselves 
accordingly?  It seems to me that the process of monitoring has shifted, 
awqy fom the focus on the individual and on to the control of 
[fill-in-the-blank], shopping areas, parks, schools, many types of 
public space.  Instead of achieving self-control, these new methods end 
up being employed in the decision for who to include and exclude in these 
public spaces.  Or perhaps, I should say in addition to the fostering of 
self-discipline, which these new methods still develops on those it 
includes. 

I'm going to stop here, my editor is driving me nuts.

John V -AT-NYU
jrv7472-AT-is.nyu.edu

   

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