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Meaning of heterotopia | Babel Free

Noun CEFR C1
/ˌhɛt(ə)ɹəˈtəʊpiə/

Definitions

  1. Normal tissue (or an organ) present at an abnormal part of the body
    countable, uncountable
  2. The occurrence of an organism in a number of different habitats
    countable, uncountable
  3. A space which is alien to what is normal within the society, variably presenting a utopian vision in physical form or serving to segregate subversive elements from the wider society.
    countable, uncountable

Examples

“Michel Foucault gave the museum and the mental hospital as two different examples of heterotopias.”
“For Foucault, heterotopias are not imagined places but real places that almost delete themselves from public consciousness. They are null sites in awareness, yet inevitable and vital to the construction of space.”

CEFR level

C1
Advanced
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.

See also

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