Shifts in the terms of reference of knowledge production have often been characterized as revolutionary transformations akin to conversion experiences, in part, because they fit with the historical narrative of periods of stability punctuated by sudden breaks or epistemological ruptures. In addition, such devices are usually inflected through a 'march of progress' in understanding the assemblages of social knowledge. The analysis of territoriality developed by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari provides an effective conceptual vocabulary for understanding the complex shifts in academic discourse and the construction of knowledge in the context of application whilst retaining the indeterminacy and contingency of 'the social' - that knowledge production and consumption is a social activity.