English 102: JC Clapp
Foucault’s Panopticism: List of Terms
Note: Definitions are not precise. Words and definitions are listed in the approximate order they appear
in the text.
“the gaze”: to look steadily intently and with fixed intention (315)
centralized: organized under one control (315)
bureaucracy: a body of non-elected officials in a government (315)
center: middle point, central point or place (316)
periphery: the outer part, boundary, or edge (316)
disciplinary mechanism: an ordered system of controlled behavior (316)
hierarchy/hierarchical: an authoritative body or group of things arranged in successive order – like a chain of
command (316)
omnipresent: present in all places at the same time (316)
omniscient: knowing all things (316)
capillary: small portion of power – a tiny portion of the whole (316)
vagabondage: a nomad or wandering traveler (316)
desertions: abandonments – to abandon something is to desert it (316)
object : something mental or physical toward which thought, feeling, or action is directed (319)
subject : one that is placed under authority, control, or focus (319)
surveillance: close watch kept over someone or something (319)
axial: perpendicular to the plane of a cyclic structure (319)
contagion: a : rapid communication of an influence (as a doctrine or emotional state) b : an influence that
spreads rapidly (a virus or bacteria) (319)
locus: : a center of activity, attention, or concentration (319)
sequestered : to set apart or seclude (319)
apparatus: equipment for a specific task – a tool (319)
heterogeneous: consisting of dissimilar or diverse parts
envisage: to form a mental picture of (to view or see) (320)
perversity: something that is stubbornly determined not to do what is expected (321)
dyad: two individuals in a social relationship – a pair (321)
manifested: having been shown plainly apparent (321)
homogeneous: of the same or a similar kind or nature (322)
noncorporal: absence of physical punishment or force (323)
principle of his own subjection: keeping yourself under control – self-regulation (323)
menagerie: a collection of wild animals on exhibition (323)
salon: a large room used for receiving and entertaining guests (323)
furtive: marked by stealth – sly
miasmas: unhealthy vapors
mechanisms of observation: methods of watching things (324)
utopia: a perfect, ideal space or place (325)
polyvalent: serves for a variety of reasons – not just one (325)
mechanism of power: power machine – methods of maintaining power (325)
political anatomy: detailed analysis or examination of a political structure (327)
network of mechanism: network of working parts of a whole (327)
network: intricate system (328)
discipline-mechanism: way of training that produces obedience (328)
sectors of society: parts or sections of society – a class system (329)
larceny: unlawful taking of personal property – stealing (329)
brigand/brigandage: bandit – one who lives by plunder and is usually a member of a gang (329)
licentiousness: the trait of having total disregard for strict rules of connections (330)
interstitial: reaching into small spaces (332)
metadiscipline: above and beyond normal discipline- a kind of philosophy of discipline (332)
disciplinary society: a society built upon discipline, as if in martial law. (333)
civilization of spectacle: a society which everything is placed for the viewing pleasure of many (333)
schemata: a mental codification of experience that includes a particular organized way perceiving cognitively
and responding to a complex situation or set of stimuli. (332)
codification: to make a code out of something (part of schemata)
cognitively: based on or capable of being reduced to empirical factual knowledge (part of schemata)
empirical: originating in or based on observation or experience that can be proved or disproved by these
things (part of schemata)
infrapenality: an area within which people are subject to become penalized (punished). (332)
Ecclesiastical: of or relating to a church (335)
circumvent: to make a circle around – to go around
juridico-political structures: existing power structures that compel people to obey laws that are made for them
(337)
infralaw: all the different powers that help our society to move along smoothly (338)
infinitesimal: teeny tiny – every little bit (338)
counterlaw: going against the powers of society (338)
reciprocity: mutual exchange of privilege
epistemology: the study of knowledge and the study of how we know what we know
egalitarian: on the premise of equality
coercion: to force somebody to do something – to dominate with force
physic-political technique: a mechanism of small techniques of discipline
inglorious: dishonorable – not glorious