Introduction and Foucault's Concept of Power

 Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Fletcher Holbrook. I am a senior International Studies major with minors in Management and Japanese at Webster University. I’m originally from Ohio, but I moved to St. Louis, Missouri to study at Webster. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts and opinions on various readings regarding the intersections of language and power.

Thoughts on Language, Power, and Foucault

Michel Foucault. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Before reading about Michel Foucault’s idea of power being everywhere, I personally only thought of power in the repressive aspect. Being threatened by those who are in a higher position of power is something that is clearly intimidating, so that is typically the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of power. Likewise, I thought of language in the same way, seeing it in the surface-level interpersonal relationships I have with those I interact with on a daily basis. Foucault does an incredible job at describing how power is more than just what we see at the macro level, and can be found in countless ways in our daily lives (Koopman, 2017). Learning his perspectives on how power and language are much deeper than how it was thought of in most circles gave me a lot to think about in terms of how it applied to my own life.

Children lining up in proper order for their teacher is an example of normalizing power brought on by society. Image via MyCuteGraphics.

I can think of countless ways in which I have experienced normalizing power as Foucault describes it. During my primary school years, I was deathly afraid of getting in trouble and having to serve detention, so I made sure to always mind my P’s and Q’s and stay on the good side of the faculty and staff at the schools I attended. I also could never imagine myself breaking laws, as I never felt compelled to do so. Indeed, Foucault argues that this structure results in "obedient citizens who comply with social norms, not simply under threat of corporal punishment, but as a result of their behaviour being constantly scrutinized" (Pollard, 2019). Power is everywhere, but where would we be without these structures in place? What would we be without them? It is something Foucault theorizes quite a lot about, and I too wonder if humanity would be quite the same without them.

An explainer on how Foucault's concept of normalizing power can be created and upheld.

In short, my thoughts on language and power were much different before reading and learning about Michel Foucault's theories regarding the true form of power. Reflecting on his stance, I can say that I agree with quite a bit of it. It is incredibly interesting to think about how these societal structures are created, and I look forward to learning more and hearing from other viewpoints.

Works Cited

Koopman, C. (2017, March 15th). Why Foucault's work on power is more important than ever. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/why-foucaults-work-on-power-is-more-important-than-ever.

Pollard, C. (2019, August 26th). Explainer: the ideas of Foucault. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-ideas-of-foucault-99758.

Comments

  1. Dr. KSeptember 1, 2021 at 8:43 AM

    Fellow Ohioian here! Good understanding of Foucault.

    ReplyDelete

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