Dale, E. Anopticism: Invisible Populations and the Power of Not Seeing
(2019) International Journal of Historical Archaeology, . Article in Press.
DOI: 10.1007/s10761-018-0493-y
Abstract
Utilizing Foucault’s theory of panopticism, social scientists have consistently studied the ways past populations were made visible and how this served as a form of power. Understudied, however, are the ways invisibility can be imposed or adopted. This paper models new discussions of power relationships I have named anopticism. Anopticism is concerned with the power exercised in making populations invisible, both as a form of domination and as form of resistance. By examining two Chinese communities in Nevada and California, I explore the ways strategies and tactics, discipline and agency, and power over and power to intertwine to effectively and purposefully hide individuals, groups, and their behaviors. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Author Keywords
Chinese diaspora; Nineteenth-century; Panopticism; Power; Western United States
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