State, Society, Public Policy - Foucault Concepts (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Foucault concepts from the lecture notes.

Power

A relational, productive force that operates through networks, institutions, and discourse rather than a possession of individuals.

Disciplinary power

Mechanisms of surveillance, normalization, and examination that regulate behavior in institutions (e.g., schools, prisons).

Panopticism

A surveillance model where continuous visibility prompts self-regulation and compliant behavior.

Biopower

Control over life and populations through health policies, demographics, and life processes.

Governmentality

The set of practices and policies by which the state governs behavior and populations.

Subjectivation

Process by which individuals internalize norms and become subjects under power.

Scientific classification

Systematic labeling of individuals into categories (e.g., mental illness, criminology).

Dividing practices

Strategies that separate or exclude groups (e.g., insane, prisoners) to maintain order.

Three modes of objectification

Scientific classification; dividing practices; subjectivation.

Subject

A person shaped by power; can be a self-aware agent or someone subjugated.

Resistance

Pushback within power relations; includes everyday refusals and smaller acts.

Power as strategic, not possessive

Power is exercised through networks of relationships, not owned or hoarded.

Subject formation and identity

Identities arise from discourse and power relations (e.g., the delinquent).

Technologies of the self

Ethical practices that allow individuals to shape their own subjectivity (self-care as resistance).

Ethics and self-formation

Foucault's later focus on how individuals shape themselves through ethical practices.

Critiques of Foucault

Arguments about determinism and lack of clear alternatives; Foucault saw critique as ongoing.

Foucault vs traditional theories of power

Rejects top-down Marxist power and mere legal authority; power is more diffuse and multi-directional.

Contemporary subjectification examples

Social media algorithms shaping self-identity; DSM classifications; public health policies guiding behavior.

Disciplinary mechanism hunt

Classroom prompt asking where you might act differently because you think you're watched.