University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

Much more than a study of the rise of the prison system, Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish poses uncomfortable questions about our modern understandings of cruelty and humanity. The western world's apparent rejection of physical intimidation and torture following the Enlightenment conceals an invasive approach to deviance that has used the instruments of state, economy, and science to steer human perceptions, desires, and behavior. In the end, Foucault forces us to reconsider just how free we really are.