About Me and "Power is Everywhere" Review

 About Me

My name is Hattie Mainridge I am a senior and major in education with an emphasis in art. I am originally from Denver Colorado but have now lived in 5 different states. One of my post University goals is to teach English abroad for a few years so I believe having a strong understanding of the way English affects power will prepare me for this route. This blog will show my progress and understanding of this topic as I learn and prepare for my future career. 



Defining Foucault's "Power is Everywhere"

Foucault Believes that power comes from everywhere. He distinguishes two types of power he calls Repressive and Normalizing. Normalizing power is much more common and comes about more naturally. Naturalized power is typically rules that most people in a society would agree upon and although the power could be enforced, many people want to follow the rule anyway. Repressive power is used less often and is not as strong as people do not want to follow these regulations. In the article titled "Foucault's Concept of Power" by Nasrullah Mambrol, the author discusses how normalized power is much stronger giving the example of mental patients that believe they genuinely need to be observed and treated. These patients want to follow the rules of the power source due to this belief causing the power to be stronger. Conversely Repressive power is forced upon a society or individuals and is unwanted an example that we can observe of this would be the many current political issues the world is facing leading to protests like the one below.



English as a Second Language in Relation to Power

The article "Language and Power" examines the power that English currently holds as the current dominant language. English currently is used as the primary language for international business and as a common shared language between non native speakers. Many cultures currently value fluency in English. I recently studied abroad in Vienna, Austria and observed other tourists, immigrants, and locals from around the world all using English to communicate with one another. I was surprised to hear non native English speakers using English with one another so often as I assumed most immigrants to Austria would rather learn German. Now, examining the power English holds in our global society, explains why so many people use English to communicate when traveling. 


This infographic shows the various reasons non-native English speakers want to learn English and the Normalizing power English currently holds.


References 

English as a lingua franca. Goldsmiths, University of London. (2022). Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://www.gold.ac.uk/glits-e/back-issues/english-as-a-lingua-franca/

Mambrol, N. (2020, May 15). Foucault's concept of power. Literary Theory and Criticism. Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://literariness.org/2016/04/05/foucaults-concept-of-power/


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