Abstract
Based on a close reading of the interview that Michel Foucault gave <em>Hérodote</em>, the geography journal newly established and managed by Yves Lacoste in 1976, this article—through the study of spatial metaphors—unfolds the concepts and functions of space used by the philosopher and by geographers. The article proposes an archaeological approach—inspired by Foucault's thinking—in writing the history of the spatial turn and understanding the role played by geography and geographers in this "reassertion of space in critical social theory."
Highlights
Hérodote, the French journal of "strategies, geographies, and ideologies," first appeared in 1976
Based on a close reading of the interview that Michel Foucault gave Hérodote, the geography journal newly established and managed by Yves Lacoste in 1976, this article—through the study of spatial metaphors—unfolds the concepts and functions of space used by the philosopher and by geographers
In Foucault's work, space is conceived—as it is by the geographers of Hérodote—as the projection of power rivalries: "There is every indication (...) that spatial metaphors (...) are rather the symptoms of a 'strategic' and 'combatant' thinking which posits the space of discourse as a terrain and subject involving political practice."[70] In this light, the line of inquiry shifts: the aim is no longer to oppose space to geography, but to connect space with strategy, as Foucault does: "Metaphorizing the transformations of discourse through use of a temporal vocabulary leads necessarily to use of the model of individual consciousness, with its own temporality
Summary
The French journal of "strategies, geographies, and ideologies," first appeared in 1976. Besides Discipline and Punish—and interviews accompanying its publication, such as L'œil du pouvoir [The Eye of Power]19 and Espace, savoir et pouvoir [Space, Knowledge, and Power],20 an interview with the anthropologist Paul Rabinow21—and the interview with Hérodote, only a few sparse writings develop his thinking on space In his 1964 article Le langage de l'espace [The Language of Space], published in the journal Critique, he highlighted how contemporary literature's interest in space (in particular, in the work of writers such as Laporte, Ollier, Le Clézio, and Butor) was in opposition to realist narrative.[22] it was in his 1976 lecture, entitled Des espaces autres [Of Other Spaces], in which he developed his thinking on heterotopias, that he arguably went furthest in his thinking about space. Https://www.espacestemps.net/articles/foucault-francophone-geography/Fall, 2005; Jeremy Crampton and Stuart Elden, eds., Space, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and Geography (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007); Marc Dumont, "Aux origines d'une géopolitique de l'action spatiale : Michel Foucault dans les géographies françaises," L'Espace Politique. The aforementioned discontinuities will be examined in parts two, three, and four of this article
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
