Essay example --

Foucault describes in the â€Å"carceral archipelago† and how it transported the technique from the penal institution to the entire social body on pg. 298 of the text in relation to how technologies, powers and disciplines were connected in a series of prisons, institutions, and other organizations that governed or directed how social norms, punishments and regulations were administered. The archipelago referred to a collection of islands, which show relationships and structural similarities, as well as differences. Foucault uses Mettray as an example to show the emergences of more formalized structure or accountability as we could term it today with examples of power-knowledge over individuals. Foucault describes Mettray as the most disciplinary form at its most extreme, explaining that the models in which are concentrated all the coercive technologies of our behavior (p. 293). The prison was successful because it structured prisoners through the processes of discipline and control. The prison showed that it had the capabilities to transform its functionality to applications and technologies other than the carceral (punitive), such as hospitals, schools, and other public administrations by making the power and knowledge that is held over individuals normal. Its systems, because they were so effective were not destined to remain exclusively to the punitive environment. The technology that they enveloped was extremely useful, and as a result, discipline and structure have been profoundly influential in the development of social norms and behaviors in societies. In modern society, the structure that was present in the carceral environment can be seen in virtually all systems and organizational structures; from federal, state... ...hich in turn is intended to normalize the individual’s behavior. In the application, map my walk, Foucault would view the process of recording and sharing results with peers through electronic communication also as the process of examination. Through the process of sharing information and gathering results and responses, the individual’s behavior becomes normalized through the judging practice; not only being judged both indirectly and directly by their peers, but also by judging themselves through their progress and/or failures. Both are essentially control through observational techniques. It is interesting because they coincide with the pressure that women place on themselves to manifest control over their bodies, both internally and externally. It is similar to a panoptic environment, where the woman monitors her own outcomes. Word Count: 234