Working out my salvation

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the correctional institution of the contemporary gymnasium. Using the theory of Michel Foucault and Max Weber it traces the dissemination of Christian asceticism and pastoral power into contemporary Western culture. The thesis focuses on the discourses that construct popular Western health practice through a discussion of medicine, consumer culture and obesity. These discourses suggest that the gym offers more than simple bodily correction. They suggest that the contemporary gymnasium is an institution that offers the universal possibility of bodily transformation. The thesis concludes by assessing that in contemporary Western society the maintenance of health has become tantamount to the maintenance of the soul.