Affective Heterotopia as a Tool in Research on City Memory (Lukiškės Square in Vilnius Case Study)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present affective heterotopia as an important analytical tool in research on city memory. The aim of the article was to describe and analyse the culture of memory of Vilnius on the example of Lukiškės Square. This is the largest of the city’s centrally located squares. It perfectly illustrates the successive stages of the development of the city of Vilnius over time, as well as serves as a record of the desires, ambitions and experiences of its inhabitants, passed down or erased from the cityscape. The article is theoretical and illustrative in nature, presenting scientific tools that extend the scope of research on city memory to include spatial and affective aspects. For this purpose, the author employed a methodology of the so-called new humanities which defines “(…) re-profiles research methods and tasks in a manner inconsistent with existing disciplinary divisions, and in direct connection with other fields of science (…)” (Nycz, 2015), along with reflections of M. Foucault, and research of E. Soja and A. Wójtowicz. The first part of the article consists of theoretical considerations, whereas, part two focuses on a concise presentation of the collected material and the possibilities of applying the described methodology, and the conclusions are presented in the last part of the text.