Heterotopia (space)

Heterotopia (space)

Heterotopia is a concept elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe places and spaces that function in non-hegemonic conditions. These are spaces of "otherness", which are neither here nor there, that are simultaneously physical and mental, such as the space of a phone call or the moment when you see yourself in the mirror.

A utopia is an idea or an image that is not real but represents a perfected version of society, such as Thomas More’s book or Le Corbusier’s drawings. Foucault uses the term heterotopia to describe spaces that have more layers of meaning or relationships to other places than immediately meet the eye. In general, a heterotopia is a physical representation or approximation of a utopia (like the city of Brasilia), or a parallel space that contains undesirable bodies to make a real utopian space possible (like a prison).

Foucault uses the idea of a mirror as a metaphor for the duality and contradictions, the reality and the unreality of utopian projects. A mirror is metaphor for utopia because the image that you see in it does not exist, but it is also a heterotopia because the mirror is a real object that shapes the way you relate to your own image.

Foucault articulates several possible types of heterotopia or spaces that exhibit dual meanings: 1. A ‘crisis heterotopia’ is a separate space like a boarding school or a motel room where activities like coming of age or a honeymoon take place out of sight. 2. ‘Heterotopias of deviation’ are institutions where we place individuals whose behavior is outside the norm (hospitals, asylums, prisons, rest homes, cemetery). 3. Heterotopia can be a single real place that juxtaposes several spaces. A garden is a heterotopia because it is a real space meant to be a microcosm of different environments with plants from around the world. 4. 'Heterotopias of time' such as museums enclose in one place objects from all times and styles. They are exist in time but also exist outside of time because they are built and preserved to be physically unsusceptible to time’s ravages. 5. 'Heterotopias of ritual or purification' are spaces that are isolated and penetrable yet not freely accessible like a public place. To get in one must have permission and make certain gestures such as in a sauna or a hammin.

Human geographers often connected to the postmodernist school have been using the term (and the author's propositions) to help understand the contemporary emergence of (cultural, social, political, economic) difference and identity as a central issue in larger multicultural cities. The idea of "place" (more often related to ethnicity and gender and less often to the social class issue) as a heterotopical entity has been gaining attention in the current context of postmodern, post-structuralist theoretical discussion (and political practice) in Geography and other spatial social sciences. There is an extensive debate with theorists, such as David Harvey, that remain focused on the matter of class domination as the central determinant of social heteronomy.

Foucault's elaborations on heterotopias were published in an article entitled "Des espaces autres" (Of Other Spaces [http://foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.fr.html] ). The philosopher calls for a society with many heterotopias, not only as a space with several places of/for the affirmation of difference, but also as a means of escape from authoritarianism and repression, stating metaphorically that if we take the ship as the utmost heterotopia, a society without ships is inherently a repressive one, in a clear reference to Stalinism.

The geographer Edward Soja has worked with this concept in dialogue with the works of Henri Lefebvre concerning urban space in the book "Thirdspace".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Heterotopia — may refer to: * Heterotopia (medicine), the displacement of an organ from its normal position * Heterotopia (space), a concept of other spaces by the philosopher Michel Foucault …   Wikipedia

  • heterotopia — noun a) Normal tissue (or an organ) present at an abnormal part of the body For Foucault, heterotopias are not imagined places but real places that almost delete themselves from public consciousness. They are null sites in awareness, yet… …   Wiktionary

  • Michel Foucault — Full name Michel Foucault Born 15 October 1926 Poitiers, France Died 25 June 1984(1984 06 25) (aged 57) Paris, France …   Wikipedia

  • The Dispossessed —   …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • discontinuity — Synonyms and related words: Doppler effect, about face, abstraction, accommodation, adaptation, adjustment, alienation, alteration, amelioration, apostasy, arrearage, arrhythmia, betterment, breach, break, brokenness, caesura, capriciousness,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • Billy Budd — infobox Book | name = Billy Budd title orig = translator = image caption = author = Herman Melville illustrator = cover artist = country = flagicon|USA United States language = English series = genre = Novella publisher = release date = 1924… …   Wikipedia

  • William Garrison (geographer) — William Louis Garrison (born 1924) is an American geographer and transportation analyst, currently a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. While at the University of Washington in the 1950s, Garrison led the quantitative… …   Wikipedia

  • Joanne Larson — holds the Michael W. Scandling Professorship at the University of Rochester Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development [http://www.rochester.edu/warner] . She is also chair of the Teaching, Curriculum, and Change… …   Wikipedia

  • William Forsythe (coreógrafo) — Este artículo trata sobre el coreógrafo. Para el actor, véase William Forsythe. William Forsythe (New York City, 30 de diciembre de 1949) es un bailarín y coreógrafo estadounidense. Estudió en la Universidad de Jacksonville (Florida) y,… …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”