Evaluation of the Usefulness of Selected Examples of Foucault's Theory

Although there are somewhat of similarities between Weber’s and Foucault’s relations of power and dominance, how they evaluate the concepts separately and the ways these concepts are practiced in society, can be distinguished differently. Webber appears to occupy the polar opposite with the respect to his claims of how power becomes existent with bureaucratic instruments and bureaucracy itself, Foucault argues that the power relations are everywhere in society and with expansive elements; society has no option but to internalize (Shaw 2011). His explanation of power is much broader than Weber’s. Focault rejects the hierarchical models of power, and believed that relations of dominance are formations of unequal power (McClaren 2002), and over time domination may seem fixed in society’s social structure (Shaw 2011). Additionally, Foucault looks at the concept of power from a functional strategy, with the functional practices administered by authority, and emphasises that authority commonly uses discursive power and the operation of discourse to maintain the dominance (Smart 2010; Shaw 2011). What is compelling about Foucault’s concept of power are his discursive claims. Unlike Webber, he suggests that power relations are not necessarily derived from state practices, but are all under state control, and highlights that “state and hegemony is in the every area of life” (Shaw 2011). Further, to understand some of Foucault’s functional examples, he focuses on the everyday lives of

In Foucault’s work “The Body and Sexuality” Foucault suggests, power no longer asserts itself as a deduction, as a "right of death." The primary interest of power now is

However, whilst each ‘strand’ of feminism views patriarchy differently, it could be argued that rather than considering patriarchy as three different entities, they are in fact each observing a different angle of the problem. They are all in agreement, nevertheless, that women are indeed subordinate to men within society, and that this needs to be changed. Therefore, in terms of the core theme of patriarchy, feminism can be considered a single doctrine.

“Foucault’s work gave the terms discursive practices and discursive formation to the analysis of particular institutions and their ways of establishing orders of truth, or what is accepted as ‘reality’ in a given society” (Goldberg). Discursive formations display hierarchical arrangement and are understood as reinforcing certain already established identities or subjectivities- in matters of sexuality, status, or class for example. These dominant discourses are understood as in turn reinforced by existing systems of law, education and the media”. Foucault’s work is to show that members of society such as intellectuals, “are implicated in discourse and in the discursive regimes or systems of power and regulation which give them their livelihoods

My presentation enhanced my knowledge of Foucault and his theory, and raised more questions than answers, which were helped by discussion in the seminar. The importance of rereading these key critical theories and explaining them in my own words was highlighted by this presentation, as doing so was fundamental to my understanding. Researching further for the presentation was also indicative of the further research needed for other theories across the module in order to aid my understanding.

Michel Foucault’s work within philosophy has made important impacts when it comes to understanding how power affects a capitalist state. Believed that history of a country should how the past created a better future for society but in most cases through history, that was not the case. One of the examples that Foucault uses is how the mentally ill were treated in the Renaissance compared to the 18th century. During the Renaissance period, the mental ill people were allowed to seen within society and were seen as useful and gave wisdom into their society rather than in the 18th century. People with mental illness were put away and see as a burden to society and seen as needed to being cured by sinister people. Another example that Foucault discuss

dealing simply with subjects, or even with a “people,” but with a “population,” with its specific phenomena and its peculiar variables." (298/25) This is where we begin to see Foucault's concept of Biopower come into play. One of the central themes of Foucault's writing, he defines biopower as "[T]he forms of power, the channels it takes, and the discourses it permeates in order to reach the most tenuous and individual modes of behavior, the paths that give it access to the rare or scarcely perceivable forms of desire, how it penetrates and controls everyday pleasure—all this entailing effects that may be those of refusal, blockage, and invalidation, but also incitement and intensification: in short, the 'polymorphous techniques of power.'” (292/11 For Foucault, Biopower relates to the government's concern with fostering the life of the population, but is also a form of complete control of that population through surveillance or perceived surveillance. Foucault believed that Biopower permeates through the

Foucault saw disciplinary power as a successful technique of power, as it shows that power can be carried out in an organised way. Unlike with Sovereign power that caused a spectacle, with swarms of crowds and

Foucault states, “We must at the same time conceive of sex without the law and power without the king” (81). Foucault argues that sex and power must not be viewed as something that is only controlled by the law but rather as multidimensional with various forms that do not manifest themselves solely in coercion. Foucault’s suggests that power is unacquired, not external but within internal structures, non-binary, intentional and non-subjective, and exists simultaneously with resistance. First, Foucault suggests that power is not a “thing” that an individual can or cannot have but can be exercised from various angles in any relation. Foucault states, “Power is not something that is acquired, seized, or shared, something that one holds on to or allows to slip away” (94).

Feminist analysis has argued that the patriarchal system of gender inequalities which empowers men and oppresses women underpins sexual violence and that stratification and social control are fundamental elements in the sexual domination of women Brownmiller (1975:4).

Foucault is a very famous name when it comes to political theory. In our contemporary theory politics course, one of the required reading materials was Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. Foucault had these very strong ideas about punishment, especially about, the “modern penal system” or otherwise known as prison. Foucault was very analytic about discipline and punishment prior to the eighteenth century. In the beginning of Discipline and Punish, Foucault explains how prior to the eighteenth century, punishment was something that was used as severe torture to the human body, as well as explaining how when people were punished, punishments usually were public and or ceremonial. Foucault had strong ideas and he mentioned some very important terms to make his argument. To help the reader of this essay, some very important key terms will be defined. These key terms include, knowledge, power, discipline, panopticism, and politics. Hopefully these key terms can help the reader understand Foucault’s beliefs and ideas, as well as the second part of the essay where Foucault’s ideas will be related to modern day pop culture. Two very important terms that are the foundation of Foucault’s work are, knowledge and power. The root of Foucault’s analytic would be those two previous words. Foucault does not view power as a negative thing, because he believes it is something that is always going to exist. Foucault

Throughout the history of the world, patriarchy has been rooted into the very essence of our lives, shaping our thoughts and actions. Patriarchy is present in virtually every society and unfortunately is the underlying problem to most violence in the world, particularly violence towards women. Patriarchy exemplifies the misogyny that has been ever-present since probably the beginning of every society. Whether it is discrimination towards women, lack of equal rights, or

Feminist perspective developed with the ideology that women face large amounts of inequalities in a patriarchal society. They aimed to address and rid the social world of this oppression of women by men. According to Bishop, (2015) “oppression occurs when one group of people use different forms of power to keep another group down in order to exploit them. The oppressor uses the power; the oppressed are exploited” (p. 133-134). Oppression must be by individual experience and not grouped into being the same for all. This includes understanding the original ideology of feminist theory being critiqued as only considering the experiences of middle class, white women. That black women, of lower class experienced oppression much different from the other women. Women are oppressed, thus has to be understood in a different construct that women are similar in some sources, experience of oppression but also experience oppression very differently from one individual to another. Feminist theories have further been expanded do its continuation throughout society and decades to encompass many more issues and arenas than just men and women relationships. Now it seeks to understand and address oppression based on culture, race, class, etc and not only for women but for all. Therefore, Bishop (2014) outlines five components that seem common to all forms of oppression and serve to maintain its presence in society.

In “Foucault, Femininity, and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power,” Sandra Bartky utilizes Michel Foucault’s concepts about power to help explain femininity. Throughout the article, she details how society forces women to fit within the confines of this construct and how it affects them.

Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary