The Rhizome Theory and the Classification of Open and Plural Documents

The Rhizome Theory proposed by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari is analyzed to identify conceptual elements that allow to base a methodology for classifying documents produced in open and plural environments such as social movements. It is emphasized that the production of documents leads to the production of social relations. This social dimension is analyzed with the help of Walter Benjamin’s concept “functional transformation” (Umfunktionierung) and Susan Star and James Griesemer’s concept “Boundary Object”. The characteristics that the document acquires in the process of literary production proposed by Benjamin and the creation of collaborative environments by Star and Griesemer are compared with the document proposed by Miguel Ángel Rendón Rojas within Documentary Information Science. Finally, metadata and hypertext are identified as the elements that meet the requirements to establish a classification methodology for documents produced in open and changing environments following rhizomatic principles.