We eagerly await

your submissions in these fields.

  • The intellectual growth forum for high school students everywhere

  • The Dynamics of Proxy War Patronage: Exploring the Confluence of Economics and Politics

    / War Studies

    Charles Xue ’25

    The Albany Academies

    New York, USA

  • The Analytic-Continental Split: A Comparative Study of Language Use in Philosophical Works

    / Philosophy

    Lang Ming ’26

    Northfield Mount Hermon School

    Massachusetts, USA

  • Environmental Injustice and Uranium Pollution on the Wind River Indian Reservation

    / Interdisciplinary: Environmental Studies, US History

    Georgiana Mueller ’26

    Jackson Hole High School

    Wyoming, USA

  • Shadow Diplomacy: How the US Drove Britain to Decolonize Malaysia, 1941-1963

    / Interdisciplinary: US History, International Relations

    Nathan Hu ’25

    The Lawrenceville School

    New Jersey, USA

  • Community, Family, Nation: Confucian Exacerbation of Homophobia in Chinese Queer Literature

    / Interdisciplinary: Gender Studies, Literature, Philosophy

    Xiaoyao Lu ’25

    United World College of South East Asia

    Singapore

  • The Persistence of Foucauldian Discipline in Contemporary Society

    / Interdisciplinary: Sociology, Philosophy

    Roy Wei ’26

    YK Pao School

    Shanghai, China

  • Democracy in Shambles: The Effect of Political Elitism on the Decline of Indian Secularism

    / Interdisciplinary: World History, Politics

    Arjun Shah ’25

    Phillips Academy Andover

    Massachusetts, USA

  • Military Brutality on the Frontiers: A Device in Transforming Rome from Republic to Empire

    / Greco-Roman History

    Skye Hsu ’25

    San Francisco University High School

    California, USA

  • The Decline of Ecclesiastical Authority in the Italian Healthcare System

    / Interdisciplinary: European History, Public Policy

    Giulia Scolari ’25

    The American School in London

    London, UK

  • Memorialized Identity: An Analysis of Collective Memory in the Weimar Republic

    / European History

    Aumrita Savdharia ’25

    Fairmont Preparatory Academy

    California, USA

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  • Georgiana Mueller

    My chemistry teacher once showcased a remarkable periodic table to our class. It displayed the abbreviations of all elements, akin to a standard table, but also included tiny samples of...

    Georgiana Mueller

    My chemistry teacher once showcased a remarkable periodic table to our class. It displayed the abbreviations of all elements, akin to a standard table, but also included tiny samples of...

  • Arjun Shah

    I first discovered my passion for political theory during freshman-year debate meetings. Marveled by older students’ esoteric references to Locke, Hobbes, and Plato, I spent my summers consumed in Two...

    Arjun Shah

    I first discovered my passion for political theory during freshman-year debate meetings. Marveled by older students’ esoteric references to Locke, Hobbes, and Plato, I spent my summers consumed in Two...

  • Nathan Hu

    As a Canadian with Chinese-Indonesian heritage who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong before studying at an American boarding high school, I’m deeply interested in the colonial histories of Canada,...

    Nathan Hu

    As a Canadian with Chinese-Indonesian heritage who lived in Vancouver and Hong Kong before studying at an American boarding high school, I’m deeply interested in the colonial histories of Canada,...

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Notable Essays

Selected from the past year’s collection

  • The Global Environmental Impacts of World War I

    Interdisciplinary: Environmental Studies, World History

    Kevin Guo 
  • The Mind-Body Problem: A Critique of Type Identity Theory

    Philosophy

    Clarence Chen 
  • Mortality Moves Masses: Social Movements as Evolved Responses to Pandemics

    Interdisciplinary: Sociology, Psychology

    Gabriel Wolf Evers 
  • The Formation of Charismatic Authority: An Analysis of Julius Caesar and George Washington

    Politics

    Persephone Reeves 
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Featured Essay

Interdisciplinary: Sociology, Philosophy

The Persistence of Foucauldian Discipline in Contemporary Society

Roy Wei ’26 | YK Pao School | Shanghai, China

In an era where algorithms track every action and social media subtly influences decisions, power may not manifest as it used to – yet, has its essence truly shifted? This study explores the persistent influence of Foucauldian disciplinary power on individuals and societal interactions, positing that the dynamics that molded society in the past continue to operate, steering today’s most imperceptible yet potent frameworks. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s analytics of power, this paper shows that modern power dynamics, while often aimed at society’s intermediary aspects, ultimately regulate and shape individual behavior. Initially, using the Panopticon and Sartre’s “gaze” as an example of discipline in practice, the essay highlights observation and normalization as key drivers of disciplinary actions. Furthermore, the paper disputes Deleuze’s assertion that “societies of control” have replaced the disciplinary society, suggesting instead that new developments enhance rather than replace the existing frameworks of observation and normalization. Finally, this paper contends that Foucauldian biopolitics and discipline, once seen as distinct, have converged into a unified system of control in recent decades. By examining the role of disciplinary power, as well as its influence on the Sartrean “gaze,” Deleuzian control, and Foucauldian biopolitics, the paper effectively argues for the ongoing relevance of Foucauldian discipline in understanding the nature of power and societal organization today.

  • Philosophy

    History: Greco-Roman, US, European, World

    Art History

    Literature, Literary Theory, Classics

    Public Policy

    Sociology: Political Sociology, Sociolinguistics

    Contents updated periodically.

  • Embark on a scholarly journey through our disciplinary collections, exploring a wide range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences.

  • Interdisciplinary I

    The study of politics, conflict, and governance that shape the world and the natural environment at national and international levels

    Politics, War Studies, International Relations, Environmental Studies

  • Interdisciplinary II

    The exploration of creative expressions and the policies and programs that shape cultural activities

    Cultural Policy, Film and Media Studies, Musicology

  • Interdisciplinary III

    The investigation of cultural practices, beliefs, and social structures that influence and are influenced by human societies

    American Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, Psychology

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