Panopticism, with Guest Ian Conlon

Sociologically Speaking

Between GPS-enabled smartphones, ubiquitous surveillance cameras, and the NSA’s monitoring of phone and internet traffic, we are constantly being watched. In many ways, this can make for a safer society, but it also raises grave questions of what give up in individual creative expression in the name of such security. In this episode guest Ian Conlon joins me again to discuss Foucault’s concept of the panopticism. Based on an innovation in prison design, Foucault proposes that surveillance is increasingly a method of control used by the government, institutions, and private corporations. We apply the concept to those security tags used by clothing stores, Jane Jacobs’ “eyes on the street” approach to city planning, and NSA domestic spying programs.

An Example of a Panopticon: Kilmainham Gaol

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Further Reading

In His Own Words. Part 3 of Foucault’s Discipline and Punish.

Learn more about the city planning concept of “Eyes on the Street”

Read an article about how one NSA program has been built into a panopticon.