¿QUE ES UN DISPOSITIVO? apuntes conceptuales para su aplicación en el territorio

Abstract

This work will try to build a conceptual compilation that allows us to approach the definition of territorial device, this task is not without risks to the extent that we are walking on unstable ground since the person who coined the concept of device from the philosophical field – Michael Foucault – he never defined it exactly even though he used it abundantly throughout his prolific work; Subsequently, various authors (Deleuze, 1990; Agamben, 2011; García Fanlo, 2011) have tested interpretations and definitions of his writings and classes, forming a group that could well be called: “The Exegetes of Foucault.” But this concept, even without being defined exactly by its author, exerts such fascination on extra-philosophical fields, to the point that they allowed it to permeate other disciplines; In this sense, architecture was counted as one of the most enthusiastic hosts and endorsed the concept with the names of architectural, urban and territorial device, as the case may be. Our work then starts from the existence of these terms within the vocabulary of architecture, geography and urban planning; and it will basically consist of collecting contributions that have been made from various fields; For this we have chosen three sources: • The first of them is the philosophical one and the answers of some thinkers (Agamben, Deleuze and García Fanlo) will be raised to the question of how would Foucault define a device? The approach to this concept is not minor to the extent that it is considered a fundamental piece in his thinking; • Later, some definitions from dictionaries that addressed the term will be presented, privileging the diversity of perspectives; • as a third source – various voices will be brought from architecture and urban planning where – without delving too deeply into the ontology of the device concept – they propose characteristics, functionalities and conditions that they must meet. Ultimately, a kind of synthesis will be attempted that allows us to build a definition with a view to the operationalization of devices in the fields of territorial relevance, understanding it as a situated historical construct.