[CM-A Thinks Allowed] Histories of HyperNormalisation: "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" by Michel Foucault
Discussion between Sarosh Anklesaria, Maryam Karimi, Varsha Prasanna Kumar, Joseph Norman, and Garret Wood-Sternburgh, situating Foucault's Discipline and Punish, and working through the chapters Correct Means of Training and Panopticon.
Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish (1979) traces the historical shift from public, physical punishment to modern systems of surveillance and discipline. He examines how power moved from sovereign displays of violence - executions, torture - to subtle, pervasive forms of control in schools, prisons, and military institutions. Central to this transformation is the concept of “panopticism,” where surveillance internalizes discipline, making individuals regulate themselves. Foucault argues that modern society creates “docile bodies” through routines, examinations, and normalization, embedding power into everyday life rather than imposing it from above. The book exposes how disciplinary mechanisms shape behavior, knowledge, and social order in the modern era.