Spatial vs. Temporal Metaphors

The most intriguing part of this discussion (Foucault vs. the geographers) for me was the geograpers' point that Foucault is very precise about temporal shifts and very murky about spatial shifts. I think that's accurate, especially in Discipline and Punish. What Foucault goes on to suggest is that spatial metaphors are very useful, if not in fact necessary, in describing power relations. Thinking of power in terms of space (i.e. power radiating out from points, coalescing at other points, being dispersed over fields, etc.) is precisely how Foucault describes it. I'd like to discuss what we think about the issue.

Another intriguing point: Foucault ends up thanking the geographers for pointing out that it was geography that mapped, literally and figuratively, everything he describes in terms of the growth of panoptism in the 19th century. This reminds me of an article I read recently about colonialism, that the appropriate set of metaphors for discussing the colonial project surround cartography, because cartography is the inscribing of spaces, types, and differences.

-Chris