Heterotopic social cartography maps perspectival difference as an intertextual field¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Social cartography is a spatial, postmodern alternative to totalizing utopic representation, drawing on Foucault's notion of heterotopia. The paper describes "heterotopic spaces" as "the simultaneously mythic and real spaces of everyday life capable of juxtaposing in a single place a great variety of different sites which in themselves may be wildly incompatable." Figure 3 applies this to the CIES postmodernity debate, defining the field by outlier positions rather than central tendency, and treating the map as metaphor, heuristic tool, and site of paralogy.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Maps are field-tested with the knowledge communities involved and re-mapped as conflicting interpretations are shared

Constraints¶

• The author warns against modernist urges to box-in positions or lay down a grid; coordinates outside the field allow unrestricted movement and choice

Target Learners¶

• comparative education researchers and doctoral students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• representing multiple theoretical perspectives and their relations visually

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Social cartography as heterotopic mapping of perspectival difference
• Modernist responses to the postmodern challenge form three broad areas: orthodox, critical pedagogy, and performativity texts

Examples¶

• Use inclusive visual maps of a discourse field to expose educators to multiple perspectives before making pedagogical and curricular choices
• Five-step discourse mapping procedure for representing a contested knowledge debate

Key Sources¶

• Paulston, Rolland G. (1998). Mapping the Postmodernity Debate in Comparative Education Discourse. Occasional Paper Series, University of Pittsburgh. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED430869