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Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and social theorist known for his studies on power, knowledge, discourse, and social institutions. His work challenges traditional ideas of authority and examines how power is exercised through language, norms, and institutions.
Power/Knowledge/Discourse
Foucault argues that power is productive, not just repressive—it creates knowledge, shapes social norms, and determines what is considered "truth." Power and knowledge are intertwined, as knowledge systems (like science, law, and media) reinforce power structures. Discourse refers to the ways in which language and knowledge construct social reality and define what is possible to think and do
The Panopticon
A concept developed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham and expanded by Foucault, the Panopticon is a metaphor for modern disciplinary power. It describes a circular prison with a central watchtower, where prisoners cannot see if they are being watched, leading them to self-discipline. Foucault uses it to explain how surveillance and visibility function as mechanisms of control in modern society.
Simone Browne’s Points on Surveillance and Critiques of Foucault
In Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, Simone Browne critiques Foucault’s analysis of surveillance for being Eurocentric and not accounting for racialized surveillance systems. She highlights how surveillance has been used historically to control and police Black bodies, from slavery to modern policing and biometric tracking. She argues that surveillance is not neutral but racialized.
Peterson-Salahuddin’s Definition of Dark Sousveillance
According to Peterson-Salahuddin (2022), dark sousveillance refers to how marginalized communities use digital tools to counteract surveillance and expose injustice. It challenges the dominant narratives of power by offering an alternative perspective from below, often using platforms like TikTok to document racial injustices.
"Power is knowledge and knowledge is power"
This phrase encapsulates Foucault’s idea that knowledge is never neutral; it is always tied to power. Those who control knowledge (such as through media, education, or law) also control social norms, what is considered true, and how society is structured.
Discipline (Definition and Qualities)
Discipline, in Foucault’s framework, is a system of power that regulates individuals through surveillance, normalization, and training. It is characterized by:
Hierarchical observation (people are watched and evaluated)
Normalizing judgment (defining acceptable behavior)
Examinations/tests (which classify and control individuals)
The Male Gaze
Coined by Laura Mulvey, the male gaze describes how women are represented in media and visual culture as objects of heterosexual male desire. Women are often depicted as passive and sexualized, existing for male pleasure.
The Oppositional Gaze
Developed by bell hooks, the oppositional gaze is a critical response to the male gaze and racialized media representations. It encourages Black women to resist dominant portrayals in film and actively engage in a counter-reading of media to challenge stereotypes.
Black Luminosity
The term "Black Luminosity" refers to how Black people’s presence and experiences are made hypervisible yet devalued in media and surveillance systems. It connects to theories of hypervisibility and racialized surveillance, where Blackness is both scrutinized and erased in dominant narratives.
Hegemony
Antonio Gramsci defines hegemony as the dominance of one group’s ideology over others, maintained through consent rather than force. It explains how power structures (like capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy) sustain themselves by shaping cultural norms and beliefs.
Counter-Hegemony
Counter-hegemony refers to resistance against dominant ideologies. Social movements, alternative media, and radical art challenge the status quo by promoting different ways of thinking and organizing society.
Intersectionality
Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality explains how different forms of oppression (such as race, gender, class, and sexuality) intersect and create unique experiences of discrimination. It critiques one-size-fits-all approaches to social justice. Intersectionality emphasizes the interconnected nature of social categorizations and how they create overlapping systems of disadvantage.
Evasion
Evasion refers to strategies used by marginalized groups to avoid or resist dominant power structures. It can take many forms, such as subverting stereotypes, using coded language, or engaging in cultural practices that escape surveillance.
Digital Dark Sousveillance
An extension of dark sousveillance, this term describes how digital platforms are used to expose systemic injustices. Unlike mainstream surveillance, which reinforces state power, digital dark sousveillance gives marginalized communities tools to document and resist oppression.
Hypervisibility
Hypervisibility is the condition of being overly visible yet still marginalized. For example, Black people are often hypervisible in sports and entertainment but underrepresented in leadership and media ownership. It is also tied to racial profiling and surveillance.
Louis Althusser
A Marxist philosopher, Althusser introduced the concepts of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) and Interpellation to explain how ideology maintains capitalism by shaping individuals’ beliefs and behaviors.
Gender Scripts
Gender scripts refer to societal expectations of how men and women should behave based on cultural norms. These are reinforced through media, education, and family structures.
Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs)
Coined by Althusser, ISAs are institutions (such as schools, media, churches, and family) that shape ideology and maintain societal order without using direct force. They function to make people accept dominant ideologies (like capitalism) as natural.
Interpellation
Althusser’s concept of interpellation explains how individuals are "hailed" into social roles by ideology. For example, when someone is called a "good citizen" or a "troublemaker," they internalize these labels and behave accordingly.
Pink Governmentality
Pink governmentality refers to how feminine-coded policies and marketing strategies reinforce traditional gender roles while appearing progressive. It is seen in campaigns that commercialize feminism (e.g., Dove’s "Real Beauty" ads) but still promote narrow beauty standards
Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs)
Unlike ISAs, RSAs function through force (police, military, prisons). They maintain order through coercion and violence rather than ideology.
Technologies of Gender
From Teresa de Lauretis, this concept describes how gender is constructed through social institutions, media, and daily practices. Gender is not just biological but a product of cultural and technological forces.
Subject (Foucault)
For Foucault, a subject is not an independent individual but someone produced by power and discourse. We become subjects through social norms, laws, and knowledge systems.
Dark Sousveillance
Dark sousveillance is a form of counter-surveillance used by marginalized communities to challenge dominant narratives. It includes filming police brutality, exposing systemic racism, and resisting digital oppression.
