Multiplicities, Multidisciplinarity, and the Future of Humanities
The concept of multiplicity has attained prominence largely through the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze (1925–1995). According to Sage Encyclopedia of Political Theory, “A multiplicity is an entity that originates from a folding or twisting of simple elements. Like a sand dune, a multiplicity is in constant flux, though it attains some consistency for a short or long duration. A multiplicity has porous boundaries and is defined provisionally by its variations and dimensions.” Deleuze and Guattari redefine multiplicities to revisit Western political theory and its conceptions of categories such as race, class, gender, language, state, society, person, and party.