FROM DISCOURSE TO MATERIALITY

APPROACHES TO THE DOCUMENT IN FOUCAULT AND FROHMANN

Abstract

This study aims to discuss materiality, documentary agency, and institutionality as central axes for understanding the document as a process constituted by singularities, autonomy, and power, based on a dialogue between Michel Foucault and Bernd Frohmann. Methodologically, it is a basic bibliographic research with a qualitative and exploratory approach, utilizing a narrative literature review. The hypothesis defended is that the document acts as a material operator of regimes of truth, serving as the point of articulation between discursive practices, institutional forces, and informational media. As an original contribution, it formulates the concept of the "document as an operator of power and truth," defining it as an active element that constitutes reality and generates political effects as the discursive dimension integrates into the physical conditions and the historical trajectory of records. This junction triggers mechanisms that shape social actions, fix individuals within control networks, and validate statements within information structures. The results demonstrate that the political efficacy of information directly depends on these dynamics and contextual material bonds. It concludes that this conceptual articulation allows for an understanding of the document as an active process, offering insights for critical document analysis and epistemological studies in the field.