After you’ve closely read “Docile Bodies,” please upload your responses to the following questions:
Primary argument of the article: What is Foucault proposing?
Primary examples: How does Foucault support his argument?
One area for further examination: Where do you have additional interest or a site of confusion?
One evocative question about the reading: Offer one discussion generating question about the reading?
A model that serves as an example of docile bodies is the “Oberkampf manufactory at Jouy,” in which divided workers in a single workspace were supervised by one observer. This established a dynamic between the worker and the supervisor enforced by a hierarchy and constant observation for work performance.
Furthermore, Focault uses architecture to support his concept of docility. A key example of this is in the panopticon’s structure, where a single and centralised supervisor is positioned to be able to observe all areas of the prison. A similar concept may also be observed in modern era schools, where there are few locations in which an individual can enter or exit.
This concept is also observable in standards, such as military marching routines. In these, motions of body parts are assigned to times, which is an example of “anatomo-chronological” conditioning for behaviour. Additionally, Focault believes that the soldier possesses a diminished control over his own body, as the soldier is subjugated to the motions of the entire unit and directed by a higher power.
Docile bodies tie into the overall concept of Humanities in multiple aspects. Focault’s concept deeply contextualises the past in many scenarios. For example, the oppression of Black Americans as witnessed in W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Comet was strongly rooted in society and the restraints placed upon them. However, the reader sees this unravel as the main character comes to realise that no other person is alive. The docile body here is intrinsically connected to the veil that Du Bois describes, where the veil serves to oppress the individual by separating them from society. This coincides with Focault’s ideas by revealing one possible factor contributing to docile bodies.
