Oct 13:
1. When you select articles for the paper, please make sure you have the most recent ones,
i.e., the last 5-10 years. Articles that are peer reviewed and published improve over time.
2. You need to find a few appropriate concepts from my summaries on Foucault’s
arguments and concepts from the 2 lists I have posted.
3. For your clarity, I have grouped the concepts according to the relevance of the topics into
2 sets (see below I & II) and you may chose the concepts and link them for your
discussion in both parts of your paper
For the following topics here are the concepts and arguments for building the framework of
analysis for the lit rev outline and then continue to use it for your Part 1 paper:
I. Foucault’s concepts and arguments on Power, Discipline, knowledge vs. Information, and
Expertise. (posted on the course web)
Is Information society being turned into a ‘house of certainty’? Does IT maintain or
compromise ethics, identity, private and personal information, etc.?
Schools, Discipline & Public education. What are the disciplinary methods in
schools/universities? How is it portrayed in the media? What is the freedom gained through
true education?
Disciplining through free IT and Punishment: Youth, Facebook and Privacy. Excesses that
turn free IT into peer disciplining: choose one of the following 3: 1. Use of social media; 2.
Student activities as portrayed on the social media.; 3. Voyeurism on the social media How
does critical media portray them?
Spyware , Pop-ups and invisible corporate control. Examples and Evidences of IT
technologies’ power : how popular media vs. critical media view them?
Propositional knowledge (Codes, rules, obedience and conformity) vs. Personal
knowledge/Knowledge of self. Examples of rules and laws that claim our obedience vs. truth
and personal integrity – popular media vs. critical media portrayals of popular/famous
people’s court cases.
Internet, plagiarism and academic quality. Instances of media encouragement of plagiarism
or cheating – examples from popular media : shows, movies, etc. vs. critical media.
Knowledge as Power as seen in the University. Popular media vs. critical media portrayals
of education, students, faculty, university and other educational issues or personalities.
Power vs. Truth. Content and influences of TV ‘Reality’ shows vs. critical media’s take on
them.
Expertise vs. Self-knowledge. Power and influence of Experts, Technologists, professional
and other specialists in various fields of knowledge. Is it controlling or freeing one from
popular notions of the Self?
Are there many spies and pirates among IT users (students and businesses) or IT corporations
(Facebook, PC corps., Media corps, etc)? If so why? Popular vs. critical media examples of
the power of IT corporations, content of the web and individuals engaged in piracy
II. Foucault’s Concepts and Arguments on ‘disciplining’ the body into a ‘Docile Body’
Science on Body: Is it ‘Knowledge/Power’ or ‘Truth’? What is Science or Knowledge or
Expertise regarding the ‘Body” and as it is discussed in image media vs. critical media?
Instrumental/scientific knowledge: Biomedical technologies; gene research and their
applications. Examples of medical research on Body and new technologies on the Body as
discussed in media.
Are consumers prisoners? Consumers and power of media, .e.g., in popular advertising vs.
critical media.
Visible and Invisible oligarchy of power: Gender in higher education. Sex /Power and
Gender discourses in popular vs. critical media .
Truth Regimes: Law, TQM, Management designs vs. Truth to Personal Autonomy?
Discipline and Punish in the work/Business world and Personal autonomy/privacy.
Docility and Commodification of the body. Popular and critical media portrayals of
commercialized versions of the Body: women or/and men
Technologies of modification of body-parts. Popular vs. critical media versions of the Body,
definition of beauty, surgical modifications, Tattooed body, etc..
Students’ Knowledge and preferences on gender/ race. Popular vs. critical media images on
racialized/ sexualized body and its expressions.
The End