Task
Choose an example of one aspect of contemporary culture that is, in your opinion, panoptic.
Write an explanation of this, in approximately 400 words.
Use Foucauldian language, such as 'Docile Bodies' or 'self-regulation'.
Use no less than 5 quotes from the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan. refer also to the lecture, 'Panopticism' (25 /10 /12), and the accompanying seminar.
Topic - Churches as Panopticons
This chosen topic has come about after thinking about my experience visiting a church when in Secondary School. Being brought up in a family environment where there was no religion of any kind practised in any way, I found the Church a very strange place to be in.
Much like school assemblies of the time, everyone faced forward towards a specific and focused area of a room. All of the teachers faced towards the group of children and the religious people in the church faced the priest. In either scenario, everyone is watched constantly giving the feeling that any individual would be seen doing anything untoward such as passing notes, laughing or generally not paying attention. Churches have a general focal point, no matter the religion, the attention must always be on an expert.
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