Foucault s Influence On Political Theory - 2360 Words

Jordan Riggs Pos 353 Political Theory Essay John Hultgren 10/30/2014 Essay 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 â€Å"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. FoucaultShow MoreRelatedLiterary And Cultural Theory During The Modern And Postmodern Period1539 Words   |  7 PagesTheories investigating subjectivity have dominated the field of literary and cultural theory during the modern and postmodern period. 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