This reading, while not really a reading at all, was extremely confusing and difficult to connect to what we have currently been talking about in class.  The use of synonyms made the paragraphs broken up, and somewhat difficult to keep up with.  It was not until reaching the end of the last page that I discovered this was not an article, nor was it an excerpt from a book, but a lecture.  Had I known this from the beginning I possibly would have been able to keep more of an open mind about what Foucault was saying; however this is not the case and the seemingly mindless rambling was confusing and heavily worded, therefore causing me to almost resent his viewpoints altogether.

Trying to get a better view of what he was talking about when mentioning ‘heterotopology,’ which isn’t exactly included in any dictionaries, I decided to try Google out for help, this is what I found: POST-STRUCTURALISM AND FOUCAULT About 3/4 down the page there is a heading titled “Foucault and Heterotopia.” Under this heading it explains simply that the definition of heterotopia in Foucault’s terms is the ‘other space,’ or ‘counter sites’ taken up by people, places, things, etc.. and heterotopology as the systematic approach that analyzes and the features of this other space he is referring to.  This other space is where the rules change for the subject.  Take the sailor for example: he lives his life at sea playing by certain rules, yet when he goes on land, he must change the way he acts because he is now in the other space, another heterotopia.  After being able to define heterotopia, it became much clearer what Foucault was discussing in his lecture.

He goes on to examine the coexistence of different, incompatible places which all exist in the same real place.  Acknowledging first that heterotopias exist in all cultures, and is a constant part of every human group.  Then describing how heterotopias can have only one function or another, not both.  They are capable of juxtaposing, dealing with closely together for contrasting effect in a single place, or even several places, that are themselves, incompatible.  Further stressing the incompatibility of the different heterotopias.  There are those which are meant to be eternal, like libraries and museums, and those which are not, like festivals and nudist vacation camps.  Heterotopias can be as simple as a sauna, which by most standards is purely hygienic, or very rich in spiritual value such as churches and other holy places.

The most substantial part of the lecture, at least in my opinion, is the Sixth Principle.  “The last trait of the heterotopias is that they have a function in relation to all the space that remains. This function unfolds between two extreme poles.” These poles being heterotopia of illusion, and of compensation.  Heterotopia of Illusion exposes very real space, all the site in which human life is partitioned.  Heterotopia of Compensation is to create a space that is another real space, somewhat like the Puritans who settled in America and thought it to be the perfect space when compared to other places.

In his closing remarks, Michel Foucault says “In civilizations without boats, dreams dry up, espionage takes the place of adventure, and the police take place of pirates.” With these few final words, he is able to sum up the entire idea of hetertopias not being interchangeable, but coexisting simultaneously in the same, yet different space.

So, while I was initially turned off to what was being said because of  the language being used, after looking deeper into the subject it became more interesting and did, in fact, explain the difference between utopias (which do not exist) and Heterotopias which must exist for the world to function.

Here is a link to a video describing Foucault’s Six Principles of Heterotopia: