The Panopticon

In Discipline and Punishment, Foucault discusses and analyzes the panopticon. The panopticon is architecturally designed in order to observe, normalize, and examine its subjects. Foucault argues that prisons, hospitals, and schools all represent panopticons. I will argue that dormitories also represent a panopticon.

In one of the key points that Foucault makes, he says, “Power should be visible and unverifiable. Visible: the inmate will constantly have before his eyes the tall outline of the central tower from which he is spied upon. Unverifiable: the inmate must never know whether he is being looked at any moment; but he must be sure that he may always be so” (Foucault 201).

The panopticon is a building where the tower, which is placed in the middle, can observe each cell’s subject. With its structure, the panopticon represents the exercise of power because it makes power both “visible and unverifiable.” While the prisoners can always see, they never know whether they are being seen. By gazing at the prisoners, the observer has power over them. The panopticon allows power to run effectively because examination is made simple – only one person is required to be the observer and this person has power over multiple individuals.

Foucault does not theorize the origin or causes of the panopticon, but he does explicate the functions and social consequences. The function of the panopticon is to maintain power by confining the person and preventing him from communicating with others. Ultimately, the function of the panopticon is invisibility, “and this invisibility is a guarantee of order” (Foucault 200). Thus, the panopticon maintains power over the individuals. The social consequence is that the crowd is “abolished” (Foucault 201). The panopticon replaces the public spectacle with a “collection of separated individualities” (Foucault 201). The most important social consequence is that the panopticon turns individuals into always behaving in a docile manner. People are acting under pressure to conform. The panopticon forms the essence of Foucault’s theory of power. It demonstrates how through its architecture it can exercise power over people without ever using force.

While Durkheim believes punishment in organic solidarity restores relations, Foucault thinks punishment acts on the individual. For Foucault, the purpose of punishment is to reinforce power rather than solidarity.

The dormitory resembles the panopticon. In terms of entering or searching students’ rooms, the policy is that Residential Assistants (RAs) can “enter students’ rooms periodically for health and safety inspections to insure compliance with University and Residential policy and procedures” (Understanding the Residential Conduct System). This means that the RAs can use their master keys to enter a student’s room without previous notice and see whether the student is behaving or not. For example, one of my floormates was privately drinking alcohol in his room, but the RA keyed into his room and caught him, thereby giving him a sanction. Therefore, students in the dorms never know whether they are being observed, and because they don’t know, they must always behave appropriately in case they are really under surveillance. Because the RAs can come to check on the students anytime, students would take extra precaution that they are following the rules. For example, my floormate who was caught drinking has not drank in the dorms since. This shows that students behave better when the RA has the power to key in anytime.


However, power in the dorms sometimes contradicts Foucault’s analysis. Unlike Foucualt’s description, students in the dorms are neither confined to their rooms nor prevented from communicating with one another. Rather, students in the dorms can communicate with one another and socialize. This communication lessens the power of the panopticon because people can unite and rebel. This communication makes them less completely subjected to power. When people socialize, they know that they are under less surveillance. Thus, power does not work perfectly in the dorms, but rather, has gaps.