HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMarginsMariaMendelPublishedonline:2February2011TheAuthor(s)2011.ThisarticleispublishedwithopenaccessatSpringerlink.comAbstract The concept of heterotopia challenges political theory, which has often focusedonutopicthinking. Foucault describesaheterotopiaasaheterogenousspacethat juxta-posesinasinglerealplaceseveralspaces, severalsitesthatareinthemselvesincompat-ible.Streets,squaresandparksformheterotopiaswhentheirutopicpurityaspublicspaceisjuxtaposedwiththeprivatespacescreatedbythecardboardboxesandothertemporaryshelters of homelesspeople. Sincecitizenshiphastraditionallybeenthought of aspar-ticipationinademocraticpublicsphere, howdoheterotopiasofhomelessnesschallengethe ideas about citizenship? Based on narrative research with homeless people in Poland, Ishowhowthehomelessconceiveoftheirmarginality. Theirparticipationornon-partici-pation in democracy is not hidden but, on the contrary, very visible in public spaces wheretheyareincludedasexcluded.Keywords Homelessness Heterotopia Ritual Democracy Inclusionasexclusion PedagogyofplaceIntroductionInthisarticle, whichisbasedonnarrativeinterviewswithhomelesspeopleinGdansk,Poland, Iusethenotionofheterotopiaasaheuristictorethinkhomelessnessandciti-zenship.1Theorganisingconcept,therefore,istheideaofheterotopiasofhomelessness.M.Mendel(&)UniversityofGdansk,FacultyofSocialSciences,InstituteofEducation,Ul.Ba_ zynskiego4,80-952Gdansk,Polande-mail:pedmm@ug.edu.pl1Theresearch, inspiredbythephenomenological conceptsof NormanDenzin(1989) andtheautobio-graphicaltherapyapproachofDuccioDemetrio(2000),waspartofalargerprojectconductedinGdansk:The homelessness agenda: The standard of an active return to the labour market. Transcripts of narrativeinterviewswith31homelesspeopleprovided thedatafortheanalysis.Datacollectionwas conductedbyafour-membergroupfromtheUniversityofGdanskandwasconcludedinthespringof2006.1 3StudPhilosEduc(2011)30:155168DOI10.1007/s11217-011-9226-yMy understanding of this concept follows Michel Foucaults way of thinking about otherspaces.Therearealso, probablyineveryculture, ineverycivilisation, realplacesplacesthat do exist and that are formed in the very founding of societywhich aresomethinglikecounter-sites, akindofeffectivelyenactedutopiainwhichtherealsites,alltheotherrealsitesthatcanbefoundwithintheculture,aresimultaneouslyrepresented, contested, andinverted. Placesof thiskindareoutsideof all places,eventhoughitmaybepossibletoindicatetheirlocationinreality.(Foucault1984,p. 24)IntheanalysisofhomelesspeoplesbiographicalnarrativespresentedbelowIclaimthathomelessnessisaheterotopia.ThisisshownthroughthelensofthenotionoftheLegalworld,thecategorythroughwhichthenarratorsexpressedtheirlivesassimultaneouslyrepresented, contested, andinverted. Their citizenshipliketheir places outsideof allplacesmightthereforebeconceivedasacitizenshiponthemargins. Onecouldsay, inaccordancewithGert Biestasessayinthisissue, that theideaof theLegal world asdescribed by homeless people strengthens the argument against what Biesta refers to as thedomesticationofthecitizenapinningdownofcitizenstoaparticularcivicidentity(Biesta2011;thisissue).Iwillcomebacktothesethoughtsintheconclusion.Becausethecategoryof theLegal world was formedinaspeciccontext, I willprecedetheanalyseswiththefollowingstartingthoughts. Theiradditional purposeistopresent the key premises, including the refusal of the existing reality of the divided worldandconsequently, embeddingthisworkindisagreement-orienteddemocratictheory.RitualisationasOurWorldOrderAccordingtoFoucault (1984, p. 123) heterotopia exists onlywhentraditional time isrejected. Homelessnessturnsbackfromcollectivetime. It isconnectedtoonesown,very autonomously perceived time, as can be seen in the narratives. This suggests aconnection with the idea of the ritual. According to Pierre Bourdieu (1982), ritualisation isatemporalmechanismthatenablesseizingtimebybringingspecicoccurrencesintotheritualisationsspacetimecontinuum.Thus itfunctionsby institutionalisinghabit-based,social practices and, as a result, leads to creating institutions. Institutions can be understoodas social practices that are built uparound a core of ritual andreligion(Berger andLuckmann1966). Religionanditsaccompanyingritualisedactionsconstitutethepatternandbaseof institutions. Thusinstitutions, consideredintheir original meaning, containsacred elements. In their essence they are sacred areas, with all their inclusive andexclusivefeatures, magicalthinking, etcetera.Rituals canbeseenas asinequanonconditionof our worlds existence. Withoutritualisedsocial actions, all of what is common, yet diverse (due tothe multitude ofcultures)andofaconstantform,wouldntexist(seeMendel2007).Atthesametime,bycreatingavisionofsocial order(thoughnot necessarilyinaccordancewiththeexistingsocialorder)andpostulatingitstransformation,ritualisationensureslawandorderintheworld. Furthermore, ritualisationis aprocess characterisedbyrites of passage. As theeffectofritualisation,nosubjectinitsindividualorsocialaspectremainsthesame;theyalways become different from what they were before the ritual appeared. Rituals thus fullanegotiatingfunctionandplayaroleascarriersofsocialchange.156 M.Mendel1 3Becauseof thefact that without ritualisationeverythingwehaveincommonourworldwould not exist, our world can be seen as an expression of dominance in culturewhich makes it ourscoherent in a certain form of submission (see Turner 1969). Today,this submission appears to be quite straightforward. Our world is (and is to be, as we canassumeinaccordancetotheeverlastingprojectofitsmodernisation)institutionalisedandrational.However, duetorituals, whichmakeit magical, despiteits rationality, theworldisconstantly being divided, parcelling out the social space, constantly delineating its margin.Behind this conventional distancing line, a separated world of people from the marginamongwhomarethehomelesshasitsplace. Inaworldthat isconstantlymodernised,ritualsconcerningthemarerationalprocesses, carriedoutwithinandthroughtheinsti-tutions and t easily in the frame of Arnold van Genneps (2006) idea of rites of passage.Theseritualsareatransitionfromonesocialstatustoanother,whichtakesplaceinthreephases:separation,marginalisationandaccommodation.Intheinstitutionalisedworldthetransitionisagraduallegalisationofthestatusofahomelessperson, whichbeginswithregistration procedures and ends with a clear qualication that enables the homeless persontoreceivebenets. Itdenominatesanunregisteredperson,ahomelessperson.HeterotopiasofHomelessness:PlacesOutsideofAllPlacesThe homeless perceive the world in an ambivalent manner. One could call it a dual realityof the homeless, in which they are part of the common world, but because they are locatedon its margin, they are also beyond it and they look at it from a distance (and vice versa, sotospeak, asthedistancingworksbothways).Thisisntmybusinessnormyworld,saysoneoftheinterviewed(M:50,Al,int.23,p. 180).2Hisdescriptionoftherealityhelivesinasahomelessperson,onanallotment,depicts a sharp opposition of two separate worlds. The contrast between us and them isvery striking: What do you know () you dont know about those things(ibid.,p. 178).Andwhatisperceivedascompletelyirrationalinonereality,doesnotsurprisewithintheother:Idratherdotime,damn(ibid.).Therationalrealitydoesnotseemtoreacttothose irrationalities fromoutside the margins andmanifests its sublime indifferencetowardsthehomeless:buttheystillwontlockmeup(ibid.).Hence, the world occupied by a homeless person is not only divided. Its parts remain soseparate, that it abstracts and it magnies the sacred. This isnt my business nor my world,Im notGod(M:50,Al,int.23,p.181).Theworldthatis not-mineissofaraway,thechance to be addressed by it is so small, that it has to be the world of gods. The distinctionbetween us and them, present in all analysed narrations, sometimes includes an explicitaccusation. They took it away from us, I mean,we became homeless,but they cant takeaway our dignity (W:52, As, int.11, p. 83), and further: So that they would treat us like anormal person, not like somethingCos many times this paper, which lies here, has morevaluethanus, likethis normal society () cos they imagine homelessness somehowdifferent(ibid.,pp. 8586).The description of the world with which the homeless do not identify, looking at it fromthemargin,isacriticalvisionandanidenticationofthefalseconventionsandpractices2Theinterviewreferencesarecodedasfollows: gender(ManorWoman: MorW),age,categoryofplaceinwhichtheintervieweewasmet(Asylum, Allotmentsorlivingnowhere:As, AlorN),numberoftheinterview,andpagenumber.HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMargins 1571 3that characterizeit. Oneof theinterviewedstronglystressedthedifferencebetweenthetime before and after the end of the communist regime, which also constituted a point of aradical change inhis life. As a result of the political changes inPoland, he becamehomeless.Forhim,everythinginthisbrokenworldisdifferent.Asanoutsider,heseesthefalseconventionsandpracticesthatarecarriedoutasthenationalcaresystemwithgreatclarity. Itsinstitutionscreatection.The jobofce creates those ctional courses, onwhich, damn, some additionalpeople make money () and as if they were trade workshops, they teach typical jobsthere. Ive participated in two of those projects and nothing, it gave me nothing, theydidnt teach me any profession () theres never too few papers in your life, but theydidnt teach those people anything. They would clear up on building sites, instead ofdoing a typically professional job. The money was gone, the settling was done; this ismoney from the Union, money went down the drain, but its been ticked offthe jobofce is doing something () The thing is that the state doesnt keep an eye on howthismoneyisspentandhowitistreated.Itsobviousitsallbeingwasted.Theyrealleatenup(ibid.,p. 220).Thesituationappearssimilartootherinstitutions,includingthosethataremeanttosolvetheproblemofhomelessness: SBA3are the most expensive ats, therell be no homelessperson[there](M:60,As, int.28,p. 220).This description is supplemented by ineffective actions of the people at the centre, seenclearly from the respondents position on the margin, because none of their actions resultsinarealchangeexpectedbypeoplelikehim.IrespectMr.S.agreatdealandthathecomes here during church holidays, says his best wishes, with somepriest, then he leaves[but] he only comes and leaves (ibid., p. 220). From this dual reality, somehow naturally,as aconsequenceof theconstant tensionbetweenits twoelements, emerges autopianreality, aprojectofabetterorganisedworld, noticeableinmanyofthenarrations.Imagine, they live here like a family [in a shelter]. Like a true family. They help eachother, theyllshareasliceofbread. Onehasnothing, buthelpstheother. Andyouknow what? Theyll help each other better than those institutions, better than all thisshitty social care. Just to give them a free hand, give them a free hand and give themthose few cents, so that they can dispose of them TOGETHER [with emphasis]. Andtheywill copeadmirablyforsure. Costheywill ndahut, for fourpeople, say,theyll nd accommodation for four people. They will have it like that! Cos one willgotowork, onewill cook, thenext onewill gotowork, thefourthwill dothecleaning. Andtheywillalwaysmanage. (M:40, N,int.19,p. 148)The personinterviewedbrings ontheideaof socalledsquatswidelyknownamongyoung people, especially those who go abroad to work. They are small communities, whichoccupy one (usually rented) accommodation. It certainly is a workable solution thatenablesthinkingaboutndingawayoutofhomelessness.Among those specic and workable solutions, there is one that is related with thenotnecessarilyutopianidea of cheaphousingandservice worker brigades consistingofshelterdwellers. Idontknow, theycouldevendoitonthetownsoutskirts, buildverycheap, maybe portacabin ats (M:60,As,int.28,p.220)or,forexample,carecentresaswellassheltersforthehomelesscouldconvertintorepair-constructionbrigades,offeringprofessionalservices.Thesocialsupportserviceswouldbemainlyarrangingtheworking3SocialBuildingsAssociation.158 M.Mendel1 3conditionsand the shelter would earn, people would have the money, they would get outof homelessness () They should create those brigades and people will work cleaning upor weeding gardens, but they dont do it, they dont. (M:60, As, int.28, p. 220). There is noanswer to the question why they dont do it. Maybeas it is stated herethe two parts ofthe broken world are parties to a conict: I want to live a normal life, a 360 degree turn.Maybe well meetone day tohave coffee, in a years time. Ill be on the other side of thebarricade(M:37, As, int.17,p. 135).TheNotionoftheLegalWorldinHeterotopiasofHomelessness:RealSitesSimultaneouslyRepresented,Contested,andInvertedIn all interviews it is possible to nd references to the dual reality occupied by thehomeless. Manyofthememphasiselegalityafeatureoftheworldthatisnot-mine,before the margin, broken. For example, one of the female respondents who wasabducted to Germany, where she was sexually abused, reports her escape and detention ontheborderasfollows.Well, this is what happened, yousee, I managedtoescapethere. AndI hadnopassport, Ididnthavemythings, Ihadnothing, Ilefteverythingbehind. Andyousee, I waited for twelve hours on the border, before they phoned Poland, to check meup, to see if Im legal, or, you knowAnd yes, I managed to escape. (W:28, N, int.1,p. 4)Legality isadistinct featureof rationalisedrealitythat organisesitself ininstitutionalforms of social life. Thus, participating in it requires subjecting oneself to countless rituals,performed through procedures and documents that denominate individuals and groups, andthatconrmtheirafliationandrepeatedlydenetheirstatus, role, position, etcetera. Atthesametime, theafliationcanbenegated bytheseprocedures anddocuments, and asaconsequence, as thereareprivilegedunits andgroups, someunits andgroups arealsomarginalized throughparticular formal procedures and papers, suchas certicates,lettersofconrmationetcetera.Thestrengthandfoundationsofthisdominantsystemarebasedoneconomicrelationsand conditions. Due toits institutions, the Legal world is vestedwith the systemsnancial instrumentationanditrituallydeals out privileges andmarginalisation, bydistributingthemeanstheentiresocietyisentitledto. Suchrelationscanbeseenpartic-ularlyclearlyinnarrationsaboutundergoingtheproceduresandobtainingthedocumentsthat areessential intheLegal worldandthat expressasenseofrelieforsuccessafterhavingachieveditall.Theso-calledaccomplishment offormalities, characteristicfortheritualisedLegalworld,isakindofsoothingandsatisfyingfullmentofastronglyincorporatedduty.Everyone marveled at the fact that I could manage so well, everyone says that I reallydogreat. Iwontletmyselfbeledbythenose.Cosfrankly, Mrs. MorMrs. Boreven (if) you asked me for some document, or somethingno problem. I go and I xit all. I have to. This is my duty, I have to. Right now Im registered in the job ofceinW, asI wassaying, ImregisteredinW. Andwhat?Imcollectingmysocialbenetsandthatsit ()Imregisteredandinsured. CosIhadtohaveall thosecerticates, coswhenyourelookingforworkWell, but theresnoworksofar.(W:47, Al,int.5, p. 39)HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMargins 1591 3Tothehomeless, theLegalworldrevealsitselfinactivitiesthatmaketheminclinedtoperceiveitin magicalcategories,whichreferto religiouspatterns.Itisnoticeable,amongotherthings:in the magical conditions, which are described by one of the interviewees asfollows: Question: What doyouhavetofulll tolivewithyourson?Answer:Conditions.Question:Mhmandwillyouaspiretofulltheconditions?Answer:Illtry(W:35,N, int.2,p. 15).in the grave solemnity and distance that magnify the magical aura of the institutionson which important life issues depend: The town council is supposed to be a seriouscouncil, butpeoplearenotreallytreatedseriouslythere(W:43, As, int.4, p. 27)andwhichpassrulingsof anexistential character (e.g. thoseconcerninghavingashelter and every other kind of participation in the legal world involved). Ahomelesswomanwhohasbeenmakingeffortstogetacouncilatforyears,states:Iwasgettingsomeletters, especiallyfromtheTownCouncil, soIwassurprisedthat something good was written there. Something bad or good, that I have to reportthere, thatsomethingismovingforward, somaybeIcouldsaysomeofthemweresatisfying(W:43, As, int.4,p. 30).inthecontrolandsupervisionusedasaconsolidationofthehomelesssubmissivepositionandcarriedoutinaway, whichforcesthefollowingmagical associationsuponafemalerespondentwhoillegallyoccupiesagardenshed. I dreamt of a dogtoday,sotherewillbeapatroltoday,theyllbeheresoon.WheneverIdreamofadog,theycome(W:49, Al,int.8, p.62).inthelegitimisationandentitlement of presencebyonesappearance; inthecon-stant, requirement for asuitable look, inherent intheinstitutionsorganisationalcultureandintheLegalworldslife,oftenexpressednon-verbally.Thehomelessformulatethisrequirementinaverysuggestive, vividmanner, whentheyspeakoftheir actions performed in order not to be treated like dogs. Im trying to prove thatImnotadoormat.Igotothehairdresseronceamonth,Ixmyhair,yes.Allmyclothesareclean,ironed,Ivegoteverythingcleanhere,yes.HowcouldIvisitmymom like that, thats wrong, you know, thats a shame (W:49, As, int.9, p. 67). In theLegal world, like ina temple, one has tobe dressedproperly, inorder not toprofanethedeity.inthepowertojudge, intheunpredictabilityofjudgmentsandthekindnessoftheLegal world, displayed in an unequal application of rules and occasional departingfrom them. Like in the world of gods, nobody knows when and what kind of capricewill determinethelifeofthefaithful subjects, yet theycanalwayshopethat godswill prove merciful. The rigid demand to pay for traveling by public transport is veryburdensome for the respondents and often put forward as an urgent problem to solve.Itturnsoutnottobesorigidforanothermarginalisedgroupthedisabled.ItisasthoughtheLegal world winkedtothemandkindlyallowedfor abreakinthesystem and for non-observance of the rule. This is a fragment of a narration of one ofthe respondents, who introduced himself as little from birth and hydrocephalic:beforeIgetherefromWrzeszcz,IhavetopayforthebusticketfromWrzeszcz,andthat costs, doesnt it. But thoseticket inspectors, theyalreadyknowme. R,isntit?Cos thatisR,theoneswhocheckthetickets, theyallknowme bynow.AndonceIshowedthemtheticket,cosIwasgoingtoGdansk,()whydidyoubuyaticket?Weknowyoualready,dontwe?Andhesays:Iseeyouwithaticketone more time, and youll get a ne. And I say: okay (smile). I say: okay, I wont buy160 M.Mendel1 3them anymore. Once I went, that was the last time and there were the same guys, andthey say: you have a ticket, dont you? No! I dont have a ticket at all! Thats what Isaid, cos I already knew them. Well, then yourelucky, cos if you had a ticket,wewouldneyou(M:37,As, int.18,p. 137).Looking at all those elements in the research that describe a rationalised andinstitutionalised reality, which, due toits religion-basedrituals, generate an expellingeffect towards thehomeless, onenotices thespeciclanguageof this reality. Therstwords saidbythose interviewed, inresponse tothe request tosaysomethingaboutyourself to start with express this language in a characteristic manner. The respondents, inorder tointroducethemselvestotheresearcher, whomtheyperceiveasapersonfromthere, fromtheLegal world, usedthis worlds language, thelanguageinwhichthatworldaddressesthem, deningthemthroughspecicqualications.I mean, the bad habit I have is that I smoke. Im not in the high risk group. I mean Idontdrinkalcohol.Ineverhave.Iwasntdraggedtothedetoxicationward.AndInever disgraced myself with prostitution. Thats all I can say about myself. (W:52, N,int.11,p. 79)Mostoftenthoseinterviewedintroducedthemselveswithaveryshortlabel:Ivebeenhomelessfor25years(M:54, N,int.26,p. 195),orImanon-standardhomeless,cosIm an owner of a at (M:60, As, int.29, p. 222). They also identied themselves talkingabout their age, education, experience inhomelessness: Ivebeenhomelessforovertwenty years () elementary education (W:48, Al, int.7, p. 49), criminal record: (I did)about thirteen years, last sentence: six (M:54, Al, int.25, p. 189) and they emphasise theirlittlesignicanceinsociety:Imanordinarycitizen(M:42,Al, int.20,p. 153).TheLanguageoftheLegalWorldandTeachingofaGoodCitizenThepeopleinterviewedseemtohavelearnt thesewordsasaresult ofmultiplecontactswiththeLegalworldsrepresentatives.Theinstitutions,throughtheirpersonnel,talktothe homeless usinga language of surveillance, control, manipulationandsupervision,performed(amongothers) incontinuous evaluations, whichconditionthefullment ofreportingprocedurespeculiarlyinatedinPoland. Michel Foucault (1975) calls themrepartitioningpractices. TheLegalworldrevealsitselftothehomelessinthemagicofwords,inthemultiplicityoftheircondemningrepetitionsthatsendthemofftothesocialmargin. Themagicof words, which, repeated, markandexpel, isaknownelement ofrituals oriented toward social isolation, as described by Pierre Bourdieu and ErvingGoffman(seeJacyno1997, p.105).Thelanguageof theLegal world, followingthethought of Basil Bernstein(1975),creates the elaborated code typical for educated peopleas opposed to the restricted codeused, for example, bythe homeless (a code subordinate tothe idea of authorityandreverence). Possibly, that is why it forms the magic which is spoken about so widely here.Andit couldalsobethereasonwhythehomelessacquireparticular phrasesor words,whichareoftenrepeatedtothem.Onewayor another, thelanguageof institutions anddocuments generatedbythemdoes not buildthemarginanymore, but abigchasmseparatingthosewho, inspiteofthat, takeuptheoftenheroicstruggle, virtuallybreakingthroughthewallsoftheLegalworld.:HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMargins 1611 3Cos, for example, when I go to arrange some papers, somebody sends me from doorto door, IIts really hard for meto settle thatI just cantThen I sitandcry.ItshardformetoThatreallyishardforme.(W:48, As, int.15,p. 114)Thelinguisticbutalsothesemioticcodicationconstitutesacommunicationbarrier.The inability to understand the codes of the Legal world also strongly reveals itself inthefollowingnarration, expressedwithfearanddanger:Idontknowhowthisisdone,buttheywantedtoevictmefromthathouse.AndIinstalledanautomaticlockthere. Imincontactwiththeownerofthehouse, soiftheytrysomeother actions, thensotherethematter was dropped, that if theyperformsomeotheractions,thenhehastheaddresshere.Thenheistowritemeanotice. And, for example, they have subsidies settled and the subsidies are registeredout, I dontknow how. Cos morethan once, you know,when I feltdown,I wantedtocomebackhome.Idontgotothepolice,nowIvebeenrobbed,IdonthaveanID. That was a fresh ID, issued three months ago, the address is written there clearly,isntit?Theexactaddress. Sowhentheyissueit,theywilltakeittothecomputerandnormally, Ihavearegistration. Icomewiththepolice, theyhavesomepaper,that Imregisteredthere. Well, I dont knowwheretogowiththis, tondout.(W:49, As, int.9,p. 69)In light of this and many other narrations it seems that differences in semiotic and linguisticcodescreatecommunicationbarriersthatimpedethecomprehensionofrelationsandpro-cedures necessary for obtaining or maintaining a at. These barriers may be one of the mainfactors preventing many people immersed in homelessness from getting out of it. The bur-densome, long-lasting endeavours for a council at during communism and todays never-ending attempts to obtain a substitute at, broadly depicted in the respondents narrations,can be a description of the difculties with communication with the Legal world.Accordingtothenarrations, manyofwhichareverysimilartotheonequotedabove,there is no doubt that the rituals of the Legal world form a kind of domestication of thecitizen, an attempt to educate them into good citizen (Biesta 2011, this issue) that affectsboththeprivilegedandthemarginalised.EverybodyLivesSomewhereIt is obvious that everybodylives somewhere. Eventhe Legal world presumes that,legallyallowingforthelackofaddressinanIDcard, employingsomekindofperverselogic, visibleinthepracticeofmarkingandmarginalisingthehomeless.Ontheonelegalhand, thereisfreedomtobehomeless; ontheotherculturalhandthereisanexpectationanddemandthat oneisnot homeless. Thiscanbeseenininstitutionalactions,forexamplerefusingtolegalisevariousats,builtorfoundbythepeople, who try to cope with accommodation problems (there are regulations, whichclassifythoseplaces as uninhabitableplaces), thus obstructingself-sufciencyinthiseld, assuchself-sufciencycouldthreat thehousingmarket andthesystemof socialcontrol. For the homeless, however, especially for those who live in garden sheds, the lackofalegaladdressisnotequivalentwithnotowningaat.I dont know if this is squatting or not, what it looks like. Anyway, I dwell, like in aat, dont I? () Anyway, they hooked up electricity in December and it was so nice162 M.Mendel1 3then()Iliketohaveitniceathome.Someadornment,oranyotherlittleshititmustbedone, soitbringsmejoy,no?(W:57, Al,int.12,p. 87)Theirhomelessnessconsistspreciselyinnothavinganaddress,notbeingabletoindicatetheir legal address. Garden sheds have the status of uninhabitable places and, although therespondents bought andadaptedthemandparadoxicallythesehouses oftenhaveanaddress, witha street name andnumber, dwellinginthemis consideredas a case ofhomelessnessintheLegalworld.Theperversityofthislogicisalsobasedonthelackofacknowledgementthatvarioustypesofposts, denedasshelters, aremerelytemporaryhomesforthehomeless(sim-ilarlytowhat workershostelswereinthepast) andthat atemporaryright tousetheiraddresses and ones place of residence would facilitate obtaining employment andgettingout of homelessness. Thehomelesssometimesdwell inthoseplacesfor severalyears and they are treated like residents, who are responsible for this place, but that provestobeofnolegalimportance, asthehomelessarenotconsideredtohaveanaddress.ConclusionsThemainconclusionispresentedasaclusterofideasinwhichthenotionoftheindis-pensableredundantsumsup,ontheonehand,heterotopiasofhomelessness,and,ontheother, theambivalent natureof marginalityas beingoutsidethecentreoutsideof allplacesbutattheverysametimealsoneededbythecentre.TheIndispensableRedundantStefan Czarnowski (2006) writes about the social margin, dened as people below all thesocial classes, without a clear social status. From the position of production of material orintellectualgoodstheyareconsideredunnecessary,sotheyareconsideredbythemselves() unable to nd a place in the world (Czarnowski 2006, pp. 9596). They exist in everysocietyinwhichthemeansofproductionareboundthatis,possessedbyanenclosedorganisation of producers, a class or a clan; presumably also by the state, with its economicsystem,andthecorrespondingworkorganizationemployment, taxes,etcetera.This very broadly recognised margin consists of the unemployed, homeless, freelancers,criminals, youngsters, still not settled in the reality, and also people culturally not adaptedtoit. Duringthe1950s theyincludedformer landlordswhosepropertieshadbeenna-tionalised. Todaytheymaybe retiredpeople goingthrougha shockafter the regimetransformation or people having difculties with adapting to the world of enterprise.AccordingtoCzarnowski, theyareseenbysocietyasinsubordinate, astheydare, forexample, to consider that the dinners given out to themare due to themand theyexpresseddissatisfactionwiththepoorqualityofthedistributedgroceries(Czarnowski2006,p. 96).Yet, as Czarnowski convincinglyshows inhis historical review, thosepeople havealwaysexisted, generatedbythesocietyadenedgroupofinterest, dominatingat thegivenmoment andplace, agroupusuallyinvolvedinmaintainingtheestablishedeco-nomical/politicalsystemasagroup which isneeded byit andconditionsitsundisturbedexistenceintheestablishedorder.Theplebeianswereutilisedbytheurbanpatriciatetokeepthecraftsmenincheck, not allowedtojoinpoliticallycrucial actions, whichdis-ciplinedtheprivilegedgrouporlimiteditinpracticingtheirprofessionsintown.HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMargins 1631 3Falling out of the group privileged with advantages, they constituted a margin, a groupof redundant people who were at the same time necessary for the creation and maintenanceof institutionalized social practices. Moreover, they were willingly utilised as producers ofcheap goods. Thus they were crossing the margin attributed to them, often acting with noaccordance to the law, designed, as if, clearly not for them, struggling to survive in existingeconomicniches. Zygmunt Bauman(2004) describesredundant peoplealongwiththeirnot-needed-by-anyonelifetowaste, whichis inaccordancewithCzarnowskis viewsarticulatedin1950s.Visibility, DomesticationandDemocracyThehomeless, who, asisshownintheanalysednarrations, alwaysworksomehowandsomewhere, for example collecting tins and recycling other materials, in todays reality areprobablytheonlyones systematicallydoingthis sociallyimportant work. Yet, societyshowsnosignof recognitionfor them. Their workisnot actuallywork becauseit isoutsidethesystem,becausethehomelessarenotlegallyemployedanddonotpaytaxes,andbecausethereisnoworkforthem. Theworkofthehomelessremainscollectivelyunnoticed, although probably every single citizen has seen a homeless person with a trolleylledwithironjunkorgoingthroughdustbinsinsearchofusefulwaste.The social order, with its frameworks in which this work is not considered work and inwhich neither the work nor the workers are visible, stands on this invisibility. In the light ofRancie`res (2007) theory such invisibility might be stopped by spectacular demonstrations(such as performative art) through which people would become visible as valid members ofthe demos. Thus their visibilitywouldmake themaccountedas a part of democraticsociety, beingincludedasexcluded.Theinvisibilityoftheworkofthehomelessisexpressedinanumbertheirnarrations.Theydepict aeverydaylifeinwhichasisshownintheaboveanalysisalot shouldchange, startingwiththedominant rationality, disenchanting(touseWebersterm) thesocial worldandmakingit aLegal world, moreandmoreinsensitiveandinhuman;through legislative changes and legal order, full of paradoxes and explicitly not seized withthe idea of social justice, ending with regulations and registration rituals, which consolidatethedivisionsandintensifytheinequalities.Perhaps, theinstitutionalisedandritualisedlifeof theLegal world issimplyadis-cursivereality, locatedinrelationsofpowerandsignicantlyinthecontextofheterot-opiasofhomelessnesstopower(seeSzkudlarek1993).4Onecouldsayinaccordancewith Biestas (2009, 2011) argumentthat it is the milieu of domestication in which thegoodcitizenisformedthroughritualsandnever-endingroutinesofeverydaylifesub-ordinatedthroughthepoliticalpower.Inthis context, Zygmunt Bauman(2004) writes about the power foundedonfear.Analysing it, Bauman thinks that, in the past, it was a cosmic fear of a great and undefeatedpower, whereas recently we have to do with ofcial fear, based on law, which was createdby,and,atthesametime,requiresmediationofahuman.Boththesebogiesdrawfromhumandefencelessnessanduncertainty.Therstoneisutilisedbyreligioussystems,the4Szkudlarek(1993)developsthisideabasedonFoucaultsthesisabouttheirreducibilityofsociallifeinrelations of power, inthecontext of ananalysis of postcolonialism, writingabout social strategies notconstructedinarelationofpowerbutinarelationtopower.164 M.Mendel1 3secondbypolitical authorities. Constant thinkingabout thefutureinthecategories ofchances and threats in our risk society (Beck 1992) can result from the expanding abilitiesof acting, with the rising uncertainty of the consequences/results. Referring to human fear,creating adequate conditions for its occurrence is creating the demand for power, justifyingits existence. This is not a single action; each political power must systematically renew thefoundationsofitsexistence.According to Bauman, depending on whether the waste-people are generated within agiven society or they enter as immigrants, we have to do with either the creation of ghettosor refugeecamps. Inmoderntimes theseasylums gatheredthepotentiallyuseful indi-viduals inorder tobringthembacktosociety. Recently, similarlytoprisons, theyaremerely waste storages, carefully guarded and supervised, so the toxic fumes do not lterintothehealthysocialtissue (Bauman2004, p.94). It seemsto becaringforthesafetyofthe sane, yet their actions are dictated by fearthey can join the ones rejected by societythemselves.Thisway,powerevokingfearislegitimisedbythesociallycreatedstrategiesofmanagingit. Waste-peoplelosetheabilitytoassimilate. Herewecanseearitualisedtransition fromrecycling waste-people to disposing of themthrough isolation andoppression,superciallyjustiedbysocio-economicfactors.Baumancallsitsealingthecontainer(ibid.,p. 134).Is democracy possible in such reality? Perhaps Rancie`res ideas on how to make peoplevisibleandaccountedwiththeirdemocraticallyvalidvoicewillletussayyes.ChallengesHowever these issues are interpretedineducational work, it seems most important toreformulatethesocial roleofredundant peopleand, seeingtheheterotopiaofhomeless-ness, to cease obscuring their indispensability. It also seems crucial to guard againsttotalisingformsofacting.First of all it seems worthwhile to underline that the homeless people in their narrativessee themselves through the eyes of the Legal world. It is easy to notice that they alreadyhave an idea of what a good citizen is, and they very much want to qualify to be that kindofcitizen.Therefore,itmightbeasignicantchallengetomakeaneducationalinceptionoftheideaoftheignorantcitizen(Biesta2011)insociallife,initsritualsandeverydayroutines. Not upbringing or schooling, but distanced educational work with autonomoussubjects, fortheiragencyandsubjectivity. AsBiestaargues:(T)hedemocraticcitizenisnotapre-denedidentitythatcansimplybetaughtandlearned, but emerges again and again in newways fromengagement with theexperiment of democratic politics. The ignorant citizen is the one who is ignorant ofa particular denition of what he or she is supposed to be as a good citizen. (Biesta2011,thisissue)AccordingtoZygmunt Bauman(2004), whenwestart designingtheformsofhumancoexistence, human beings become waste. Therefore all the forms of designed educationmustbeforgotten.Considering this, we should replace the old discourse with a new one, using Rancie`resandBiestasideaofignorance.Itprobablydoesnotincludeachangeofbeneciariestheywill remaincorporations, countries andother organisations bindingthesources ofresources, providing access to the changing goodsbut heterotopias such as homelessnesscanaltersignicantly.HeterotopiasofHomelessness:CitizenshipontheMargins 1651 3Yet, every human action is only partly predictable; every institution, even the most totalone, leavesspacefornegotiatingrolestobeplayedandmaintainingthetotal order(seeLaclau1996).AsRancie`re(1999)argues,disagreementisadirectconfrontationwiththesharesofsensiblerealitywhichmakevisibletheinvisiblegovernments(mostlythegov-ernmentofthenancialinstitutions).Thevisualisation,whoseneedisexpressedhereinrelationtothedescribedheterotopiaofhomelessness,maybestartedbyachainofunpre-dictabledisagreements. It couldbecome, forinstance, systemiceducational andculturalactions based on creating critical distance towards ritualisation and planned, systematic worktowards changing the rituals. As I have mentioned, in the institutionalised world and becauseof its focus on the homeless, the ritual transition is a gradual legalisation of the status of ahomeless person. Heterotopias of homelessness described on the basis of my study represent,contest and invert these practices. They are educationally meaningful by showing the otherplaces for inclusion and for citizenship, not on the margins. One could see this as an appealfor re-ritualisation and re-domestication of the world in which we act, its critical rethinkingand re-practicing in the light of Rancie`res (2007) conception of the division of the sensible.This chain could initiate emergence of different kinds of social self-organisation that couldlead to deeper changesin ourselves, our being-in-the-world, to socialand cultural change.Therefore, in accordance with what Freire (2000) taught, there is a need to improve and todevelop the educational work towards freedom as cultural action.But whileconsideringthediscourseof freedom(negotiatingbetweeneducationandidentity) wecaneasilynoticethat theprocess of changingrealitydemands morethansocial narratives(seealsoSzkudlarek1993). Thesocial dramasseemtobelyinginthecentreofeducational worktowardssocial andcultural change, whichIstriveforinthelightofmyheterotopiasstudy. AsSzkudlarekstates:Reality, with its dimensions of practical life, cannot be fully narratized, even thoughits narratizationis a prior aimof discursive practices. [W]ithinthe discursivesphere the practical plays the role of undecidable, of a third dimensionof allconceptual dualisms. This aspect of the practical has been realized in the philosophyoflanguageevenbeforedeconstructionism.()Knowingthepracticalis,therefore,a particular act of cognition, different from specically human conceptual dualism.It is nowonder, then, that inthe discursive struggle, inevitablystretchingitselfbetweenpolarizeddichotomies, thesphereofpractical knowingcanplayadecon-structive, liberatingroleandprovidefor astandingfromwhichtointerrogateallideologicalpositions. (Szkudlarek1993, pp.137138)He identies it as a pragmatic trace of emancipatory thinking (ibid., p. 138). Perhaps suchatracerunsthroughthesocial dramasinwhichpeoplemight consciouslychangetheireverydayroutinesandreversethoseritualsthatruinthesensibleworld.Thereforethereisalso a need for education towards conscious social playing, changing the rituals organizingandmaintainingthe hegemonictype of social order. This educationmaybefruitfullyrootedintheanthropological achievement of Victor Turner (1975) andtheoryof socialtheatre developed by Augusto Boal (1992). Educational thought and practice based on suchroots and keeping the already mentioned orientation could be productive in a process of re-ritualisation, as educated social practice. It seems to contributefollowing JacquesRancie`reto the formation of collective speakers who throw into question the distributionofroles,ofterritories,oflanguagesonshort,politicalsubjectswhoupsetanestablishedsharing and division of the sensible (as cited in Holmes 2001, p. 64). It sounds explicitly as166 M.Mendel1 3educational challenge and this is one of the most challenging dimensions of a pedagogy ofplace(Mendel2006).5Thesereectionsarenotmeantto beacallforanewpedagogy. Itis,mostofall, thequestionofdevelopingformsofeducational actionthat aimat buildingcritical distancetowardsritualisedsocial practicesthatorganisethespaceofour-ness,ofwhichwearebothproducersandproducts.Acknowledgments I wouldlike toexpress mygratitude tothe anonymous reviewer andtoClaudiaRuitenbergfortheirinspiringcommentsthathelpedmetopreparethenalversionofthepaper.OpenAccess ThisarticleisdistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionNoncom-mercial Licensewhichpermits anynoncommercial use, distribution, andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalauthor(s)andsourcearecredited.ReferencesBauman,Z.(2004). Zycie na przemia[Wasted lives: Modernity and its outcasts].Krakow:WydawnictwoLiterackie.Beck,U. (1992).Risksociety.Towardsanewmodernity.NewDelhi:SagePublications.Berger, P. 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Obrzedy przejscia [Les rites de passage] (B.Bialy, Trans.).Warsaw: PIW.168 M.Mendel1 3Copyright of Studies in Philosophy & Education is the property of Springer Science & Business Media B.V.and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyrightholder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.