Which is worse: imprisoning someone for committing a crime, or intimidating someone into following the law? A short video introduces the main ideas of Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish, including his perceptions of the dangers of dynamic normalization and the undemocratic nature of constant surveillance.

Concepts

french history, philosophers, crime and punishment, democracy, creativity, sociology

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use during a philosophy or sociology lesson when addressing government surveillance 
• Have learners write their own summary of the book and compare their observations to the video
• Introduce a research project about modern punishment and imprisonment with the video

Classroom Considerations

• Comment section is available to the public
• Note the additional links in the information section for more critical thinking resources

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Provides a thought-provoking account of Foucault's views
• Beneficial alongside a reading of the entire book, or for a summary in the context of a larger sociology lesson

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.9 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.9