A discussion on how the responses to the plague in medieval and early modern Europe can be best characterized as early examples of the operation of disciplinary power.
Written in 2007; 2,291 words; 11 sources; MLA; $ 70.95
Paper Summary:
This paper discusses Michel Foucault's contention of the plague as a historical phenomenon, out of which a controlling, intrusive and discursively powerful form of modern rule emerged in Europe. The paper relates that, from a retrospective look at the responses to the plague in mediaeval and early modern Europe, it is tempting to conclude that the responses represented clear early examples of disciplinary power in action. Moreover, plague regimes appear to have been interventionist, controlling and totalizing. The paper then explains that this view leads to a distorted understanding of power as all-encompassing when, in reality, it was anything but. The paper concludes that it would be historically inaccurate to leave the impression that these plague regimes were omnipotent, for the simple reason that the enforcement of power was a messy, contested and negotiated process. There is also a limit to seeking examples of disciplinary power in a past period that Foucault himself did not necessarily see as completely emblematic of his theory.
Outline:
Introduction
Power as Interventionist and Controlling
Power as Limited and Hyped
Conclusion
From the Paper:
"Certainly England did eventually move towards a continental style of control. But this move, instigated under the rule of Charles I, was quickly abandoned following the outbreak of the Civil War. (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.100) Even if this plan had been carried out by the Crown, which had by and large succeeded in setting up pest houses throughout the rest of the kingdom, London would surely have resisted, for it rejected a system of pest houses in favour of continuous home quarantine, which obviated the need for "an extensive and expensive system of workers". (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.126) More significantly, London insisted on relying upon local and national charities as well as normal taxation to fund measures to cope with the plague rather than resort to a special plague tax that would have made the victims of disease wholly dependent on the benevolence of the state - to this extent inhabitants were not subject to the totalizing power of the state. (Naphy and Spicer, 2000, p.126) "
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