Foucault & Haraway - Group 7
(Andrea, Alex, and Dominic)
One of the main ideas in Foucault's article is that people are formed and shaped through discipline, no matter what the environment (i.e. school, army, work, etc.). We are malleable beings that are governed by rules and regulations presented to us through a particular social context, and these rules are dictated by those in power. And given the right set of disciplinary conditions, an unlikely candidate (e.g. a mere peasant) can be molded into an efficient, functioning member of a greater system (e.g. soldier). An example would be the student and teacher relationship. If a student misses more than three classes, the teacher has the authority to fail a student, which will affect his conduct towards attendance and punctuality.
Another point brought up by Foucault is that we are all part of a system of organization. In this case, a society; furthermore, we are part of several other systems, such as an educational system, with certain rules, or family system, etc., all comprising this greater system of society. And finally, this system is governed and controlled by those in power or those who implement the discipline to control the society.
One of the questions that arose during the discussion is that, is there a pre-existing essence or core of a person before the implementation of discipline, or are we a product of the discipline and conditioning we receive? Is it possible to exist outside a given system, or any system for that matter? (answers pending....)
In the article by Haraway, she introduces the idea of a cyborg (half machine, half organic being) in an attempt to blur the lines of classifications that we use in our society (e.g. genders). She does this by creating ambiguity between reality and fiction, and using this dualistic being of organic and mechanical components to make us realize that when analyzing political or social policies, we must adopt a dualistic viewpoint, instead of a narrower, single viewpoint.
I believe the parallel between the two articles is that the body/person/entity is shaped by society and conditioning there-from. I don't believe we can ever escape it but only hope to manipulate so that it may one day suit our goals and needs.
One of the main ideas in Foucault's article is that people are formed and shaped through discipline, no matter what the environment (i.e. school, army, work, etc.). We are malleable beings that are governed by rules and regulations presented to us through a particular social context, and these rules are dictated by those in power. And given the right set of disciplinary conditions, an unlikely candidate (e.g. a mere peasant) can be molded into an efficient, functioning member of a greater system (e.g. soldier). An example would be the student and teacher relationship. If a student misses more than three classes, the teacher has the authority to fail a student, which will affect his conduct towards attendance and punctuality.
Another point brought up by Foucault is that we are all part of a system of organization. In this case, a society; furthermore, we are part of several other systems, such as an educational system, with certain rules, or family system, etc., all comprising this greater system of society. And finally, this system is governed and controlled by those in power or those who implement the discipline to control the society.
One of the questions that arose during the discussion is that, is there a pre-existing essence or core of a person before the implementation of discipline, or are we a product of the discipline and conditioning we receive? Is it possible to exist outside a given system, or any system for that matter? (answers pending....)
In the article by Haraway, she introduces the idea of a cyborg (half machine, half organic being) in an attempt to blur the lines of classifications that we use in our society (e.g. genders). She does this by creating ambiguity between reality and fiction, and using this dualistic being of organic and mechanical components to make us realize that when analyzing political or social policies, we must adopt a dualistic viewpoint, instead of a narrower, single viewpoint.
I believe the parallel between the two articles is that the body/person/entity is shaped by society and conditioning there-from. I don't believe we can ever escape it but only hope to manipulate so that it may one day suit our goals and needs.
posted by Quandrei at 12:28 PM
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