surveillance

Question 1

distinguish between sovereign and disciplinary power

Answer 1

sovereign - typical of period before 19th century when monarchy had absolute power over people and their bodies, punishment was a brutal, emotional spectacle
disciplinary power - dominant from the 19th century, a new system of discipline seeks to govern not just the body but the mind

Question 2

give a summary of foucalt’s ideas about surveillance

Answer 2

disciplinary power replaced sovereign power due to more surveillance which is a more efficient technology of power
the panopticon - foucalt illustrates disciplinary power - this was a design for a prison in which all cells are visible from a central watchtower. The prisoners know that they might be being watched encouraging self surveillance and self discipline/
rehabilitates prisoners
since the 19th century, a range of institutions used disciplinary power. Non-prison based social controls began to form part of a carceral archipelago - a series of prison islands spreading across other institutions.

Question 3

synoptic surveillance

Answer 3

mathiesen - the media enables the many to see the few. In late modernity, there Is an increase in top-down centralized surveillance that foucalt discusses but also surveillance from below.
Thompson - powerful groups such as politicians fear media damaging information acting as a form of social control.
widespread camera ownership means that ordinary citizens may be able to control the controllers/
McCahill - occasional bottom up scrutiny may be able to reverse hierarchy of surveillance.

Question 4

surveillant assemblages

Answer 4

haggerty and ericson - surveillance technologies new involve manipulation of virtual objects (digital data) In cyberspace
surveillance technologies tended to be standalone and unable to talk to one another. There is now more combining of technologies.
Haggerty and Ericson - surveillant assemblages

Question 5

actuarial justice and risks management

Answer 5

feeley and Simon - a new technology of power is emerging throughout justice system
- focused on groups rather than individuals
- not interested in rehabilitation but prevention
- uses calculations of acturial analysis deriving from insurance industry
young - acturial justice is basically a damge limitation strategy to reduce crime by using statistical information
social sorting and categorical suspicion - Lyon - the purpose of this social sorting is to categories people according to the level of risk that they pose. One effect is to place entire social groups under what T.Marx calls categorical suspicion - people placed under suspicion of wrongdoing simply because they belong to a particular group

Question 6

labelling and surveillance

Answer 6

ditton et al - the cameras were capable of zooming in on vehicle tax discs from 100 metres away
CCTV operators make discriminatory judgements about who among the thousands of potential suspects to focus on.
Norris and Armstrong - there is simply a massively disproportionate targeting of young black males for no other reason than their membership to a particular social group.
such judgements are based on typifications