Cultural Sociology: Week 3 Readings (Foucault, Post-Structuralism, Discourse, Power)

On Philip and Riley's "The Post-Structural Turn", Mills' "Discourse", and Connell's "Queer Fa(t)shion".

Post-Structuralism

Truth and reality are not static or universal. The underlying structures beneath knowledge systems is just produced and has power over our beliefs, culture, and societies.

Structuralism

Meaning is stable and definite. There is a single truth. Empirical.

Death of the Subject

The subject is not a sovereign authority of truth, as stated in humanism. The subject is subjective.

Discourse

Away of describing, defining, classifying, and thinking about people, things, and even knowledge and abstract systems of thought.

Power

Like Nietzsche, he argued that power was a fundamental, inescapable dimension of social life

Sovereign Power

Absolutist Monarchs. Brutal punishments full of ritual. To be done when rules are broken.

Disciplinary Power

Modern leadership. Regulation and monitoring, emphasizing normalization and control over individuals in society. Rational.

Panopticon

A theoretical design for a prison by Jeremy Bentham, allowing all inmates to be observed by a single guard without them knowing whether they are being watched. It embodies the concept of surveillance and control in modern society.

Biopower

A form of power that regulates populations through an emphasis on health, reproduction, and the management of life itself, often intersecting with governmental policies.

Taboo [External]

Form of prohibition that makes it difficult to talk about stuff. Constrains the way we talk about these subjects.

The Mad and the Sane [External]

The "mad" (the disenfranchised) and what they have to say are not seen, not platformed, not regarded. Only the "sane" (those privileged) are platformed and listened to.

True and False [External]

The "truth" is gleaned from those in positions of authority. Others not in this position are seen as speaking falsities.

Commentary [Internal]

How people analyze and read the text.

Author Function [Internal]

Classification and judgment based on author.

Disciplinary Boundary [Internal]

Prescribe what can be counted as possible knowledge within a particular subject area and constrains it into normative forms.

Rarefication [Internal]

The limitation placed on who can speak authoritatively, that is, some discourses are open to all and some have very limited access.

Counterdiscourse

To counter the domination of prevailing authoritative discourses