Heterotopia (space)

A public toilet in Amsterdam, an example of a heterotopia of ritual or purification

Heterotopia is a concept elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe certain cultural, institutional and discursive spaces that are somehow "other": disturbing, intense, incompatible, contradictory or transforming. Heterotopias are worlds within worlds, mirroring and yet upsetting what is outside. Foucault provides examples: ships, cemeteries, bars, brothels, prisons, gardens of antiquity, fairs, Muslim baths and many more. Foucault outlines the notion of heterotopia on three occasions between 1966 and 1967. A lecture given by Foucault to a group of architects in 1967 is the most well-known explanation of the term.^[1] His first mention of the concept is in his preface to The Order of Things, and refers to texts rather than socio-cultural spaces.^[2]

^ Foucault, Michel (March 1967). "Of Other Spaces (Des Espace Autres)". foucault.info. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^ Foucault, Michel (1971). The Order of Things. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-75335-3.

[1] Foucault, Michel (March 1967). "Of Other Spaces (Des Espace Autres)". foucault.info. Retrieved 2022-01-09.

[2] Foucault, Michel (1971). The Order of Things. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-75335-3.

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Heterotopia (space)

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