Talk:Heterotopia

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it doesn't seem like the author of this article has actually read foucault's heterotopias essay, especially because the article lacks mention of a deliberate contrast between utopias (which by definition don't exist) and heterotopias (which do) and because it incorrectly claims that foucault situated heterotopias primarily within technologically advanced societies

[edit] Do heterotopias exist outside of Foucauldian discourse?

I was just wondering if every mention of the term necissarily implicates foucault. I have heard, for example, of Nowhere (airports, for example). This entry makes it sound like hetrotopia is a value in foucault, and nothing else. Is it a widely used term nowadays, or does it only belong to the cult?

[edit] Lack of information

I found this article puzzling. It doesn't even explain what Foucault's concept means! I surfed in wanting to find out what he meant by the word, and the only thing I see is references to *other* explanations of the term. In that respect, it's a poor article--it just adds to the confusion of not knowing what it's all about. Please edit this to answer the question of "what Focault meant by heterotopia".--Snowgrouse 08:34, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References towards other uses of Heterotopia

Foucault's clearest and the critical reference to the difference between a Utopia and Heterotopia is in the preface to 'The Order of Things' on page xviii. An equally clear description and further use of the term is from Jacques Ranciere, the reference I'm thinking of is in The Politics of Aesthetics (esp p40 and 41) where he argues that in relationship to utopian politics that "the fictions of art and politics are therefore heterotopias rather than utopias" and referring to his book 'The Nights of labor' which is a discussion between workers and the engineers olf a utopia. (Deeply relevant when considering the utopian ideals of neo-liberalism.) Beyond this there is alo the work of Gille Deleuze whos preference of Samuel Butler's heterotopian novel 'Erewhon' is well known.. (SDV 64.47.104.249 12:03, 1 February 2007 (UTC))