English

Noun

heterotopia ‎(countable and uncountable, plural heterotopias)

1. (pathology) Normal tissue (or an organ) present at an abnormal part of the body
2. (ecology) The occurrence of an organism in a number of different habitats
3. (philosophy) A type of utopia that actually exists in a society
   • 2002, James W Flanagan, David M Gunn, Paula M McNutt, "Imagining" biblical worlds

     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.

Synonyms

• (medical condition): ectopia, ectopy, dystopia, malposition

Related terms

• heterotopic