Space and Power : A Comparative Study on the Discourses of Prison

The changes of prison facilities in the age of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, implies viewpoints architectural space as a representation of power. The aim of the study is to examine the structuralistic approach based on two authors of Michel Foucault and Robin Evans. Both texts are summarized and analyzed to make comparison. While Foucault concentrates upon the ideas relating to punishment which preceded and led to the prison being adopted, Evans regards the reality of punishment as it was executed in its architectural context. The study compares the fundamental difference between the two texts; the approach that each author takes with regard to the central issue of the history of penality. These two different interpretations dictate the framework of each discourse and has resulted a number of different notions of ideas. By comparing divergence and convergence of the texts, the study analyzes each author's methodology, theoretical position and notions of prison. Keywords are also extracted to articulate the study and each author's arguments as well.