Scribd
Upload
5 views1 page

Historiography Commentary

The document discusses Foucault's 'The Order of Things,' which critiques conventional categorization of knowledge and explores the relationship between language, representation, and epistemes. Foucault uses Velázquez's 'Las Meninas' to illustrate how representation complicates the observer-observed dynamic, suggesting that truth is subjective. The text emphasizes the importance of critically re-evaluating established knowledge structures through Foucault's concept of 'the Archaeology of Knowledge.'

Uploaded by

Dila Terün
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
5 views1 page

Historiography Commentary

The document discusses Foucault's 'The Order of Things,' which critiques conventional categorization of knowledge and explores the relationship between language, representation, and epistemes. Foucault uses Velázquez's 'Las Meninas' to illustrate how representation complicates the observer-observed dynamic, suggesting that truth is subjective. The text emphasizes the importance of critically re-evaluating established knowledge structures through Foucault's concept of 'the Archaeology of Knowledge.'

Uploaded by

Dila Terün
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

AR523 | Introduction to Architectural Historiography | Fall 2023

Week 8 : Post-structuralism and Methodological Diversification


Dila Terün – 303081137
 Foucault, M. (2001). The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences (2nd ed.).
Routledge.
 Soussloff, C. M. (2009). Mıchel Foucault and The Poınt Of Paıntıng. Art History, 32(4), 734–754.

The book ‘’The Order of Things’’ is inspired by a Borges passage describing a Chinese
encyclopedia which challenges familiar ways of thinking by categorizing animals
unconventionally. Foucault explores the limitations of our thought processes and the
impossibility of grasping a radically different system. Borges’s enumeration disrupts common
ground by rendering impossible the conception of proximity between disparate things which
ultimately challenges our understanding of the possible.
Foucault argues that throughout history, different epistemes or structures of knowledge
have emerged, each with its own set of rules, classifications, and understanding of the world.
He is particularly interested in how language, taxonomy, and representation are linked to the
formation of knowledge. At this point, one can either accept this reflection of knowledge, the
order of things, that has been unconsciously constructed and conforms to conventional norms,
or critically revaluate it through one’s own interpretation. Foucault conceptualizes this
revaluation with ‘’the Archaeology of Knowledge’’ which refers to the critical examination of
the underlying structures, rules, and conditions that shape the production of knowledge. His
approach is critical in the sense that it challenges traditional historical methodologies which
focus on the intentions or the content of ideas. Instead, it seeks to uncover the conditions of
possibility which make certain discourses intelligible within a given historical and cultural
framework.
Foucault uses Diego Velázquez’s painting ‘’Las Meninas’’ as a starting point to discuss
the relationship between representation, language, and knowledge in the context of the
archaeology of painting. He sees this painting as a metaphor for the ways in which
representation and meaning are constructed by the visual language. It can be said that the
reason why Foucault chose ‘’Las Meninas’’ is because its representation challenges traditional
notions of subject and object. The painting disrupts the conventional understanding of the
observer and observed by creating a complex web of gazes and perspectives. Both the figures
in the painting and the observer are subjected to a gaze that is scrutinizing and controlling.
The tension between the painter’s gaze and the spectators creates an ongoing and reciprocal
relationship. The presence of the mirror in the background adds an element of reflection and
self-awareness, suggesting that truth and ‘’the order of things’’ are subjective and
questionable. This complexity reflects broader shifts in epistemic structures and how
knowledge is produced and understood in different historical periods.

You might also like