Solenne Bideau L&S Arts & Humanities
Geography and the Western Epistemological Regime
In an interview with Marxist geography journal Hérodote in 1976, Michel Foucault asked, “What does it mean to call spatial knowledge a science?”
Using this interview as my starting point, my research explores texts of Sylvia Wynter and
Michel Foucault– two theorists interested in questions concerning the movement and progression of ideas throughout time, whether that be due to “epistemological ruptures” or “epistemes,” regimes of knowledge that dictate what is possible to know in a certain historical period.
While the notion of “epistemological regime” is central to both Foucault and Wynter’s
theoretical writings, they approach the question of geography differently. My research comprises two questions: Where and how do
discussions of geography appear in Foucault’s theoretical work? What can we understand from the intersection of Wynter and Foucault’s theories on our understanding of geography/spatiality as a product of the Western epistemological regime?
Message To Sponsor
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to explore my interests in epistemology, geography, and the construction of knowledge over the course of this summer. This research is very important to me and it is truly special to have this opportunity as an undergraduate. Thank you so much.