Discipline and Punish

About “Discipline and Punish”

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison is a 1975 book by Michel Foucault that examines the development of Western penal systems through historical documents from France. Foucault challenges the idea that prison became the main form of punishment due to humanitarian reform. Instead, he explores how cultural changes and the concept of power shaped the rise of prison. He connects this shift to the use of "disciplines," or new forms of control, which also appear in institutions like schools, hospitals, and the military. The book analyzes how power operates through the body and social structures. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)