INVISIBLE EYES AND VISIBLE BODIES: A FOUCAULDIAN CRITIQUE OF SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL IN NOVIOLET BULAWAYO’S GLORY
Keywords:
Disciplinary Power, Glory, Panopticon Surveillance, Postcolonial Literature, ResistanceAbstract
This study examines the relationship between surveillance, power, and social control in NoViolet Bulawayo's Glory. Drawing on Michel Foucault's concept of panopticism, it explores how surveillance functions as a mechanism of discipline and authoritarian governance. Although Glory has received considerable scholarly attention for its political satire and allegorical portrayal of postcolonial Zimbabwe, its representation of surveillance has received limited critical attention. Addressing this gap, the study employs close textual reading informed by a Foucauldian framework. The analysis reveals that Jidada's security apparatus, public rituals, and culture of constant observation compel individuals to internalize authority and regulate their own conduct. At the same time, the novel demonstrates that surveillance is never absolute, as individual and collective acts of resistance expose the limits of authoritarian control. The study contributes to African literary scholarship by offering a Foucauldian perspective on the intersections of surveillance, power, discipline, and resistance in contemporary postcolonial fiction.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maryam Shabbir, Farah Amjad (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
