Panopticon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Panopticon - Essay Example The involved management is in a position to monitor the behavior of the inmates who are placed at the perimeter of the building. Though the founder of the panoptic- Bentham- said this design is also applicable in churches, schools, hospitals or asylums, he concentrated on the panoptic prisons which are widely recognized today (Semple 2003). Between 1786 and 1787, Bentham travelled to kritchev to pay a visit to his brother. His brother- Samuel- was involved in various projects involving industrial ones for the prince Potemkin. Later, Jeremy acknowledged that it is his brother Samuel who came up with the idea of a circular building at the centre of a larger compound area where managers would be in a position to monitor the skills of all the unskilled workers. Jeremy, however, decided to conceptualize the idea into a prison setting. Once he returned to England from visiting his brother, Jeremy continued to work on his panopticon idea. He even sought the professionalism of an architect. He continued to propose his ideas to authorities with no avail. He was to see the prison but the authorities just turned him down. Thus, he concentrated his ideas in persuading the prime minter (Bentham 2011). His efforts bore fruits and he was given some initial capital to commence the project. After a struggle to purchase a site, he later bought one at the Milbank in 1779. The site however was quite unhealthy and small according to his sentiments. However, his efforts to plead with the government to allocate him more money to buy more land were unsuccessful. The authorities told him to manage with that land by building a much smaller panoptic prison. He continued to pester the government with his idea though he saw they were uncommitted to the project. The then prime minister resigned in 1801 and the project was put to a halt. Due to this, he remained bitter all his life and later demanded for