Heterotopia
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˌhɛt(ə)ɹəˈtəʊpiə/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Heterotopia is a noun meaning (pathology) Normal tissue (or an organ) present at an abnormal part of the body.
Meaning
(pathology) Normal tissue (or an organ) present at an abnormal part of the body.
More Meanings
- (ecology) The occurrence of an organism in a number of different habitats
- (philosophy, literary criticism) 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.
Example Sentences
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.
Word Forms
- heterotopias
Synonyms for heterotopia
Depending on context, synonyms include allotopia, ectopia, ectopy, dystopia, malposition.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include periventricular, subependymal, heteroplasia, heteroplasm, heterotopy, homoiosis.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.