In 1966, Jacques Derrida gave a lecture at Johns Hopkins University that cast the entire history of Western Philosophy into doubt.
The following year, Derrida published three brilliant but mystifying books that convinced the pollsters that he was the most important philosopher of the late 20th Century.
Unfortunately, nobody was sure whether the intellectual movement that he spawned - Deconstruction - advanced philosophy or murdered it.
The truth? - Derrida is one of those annoying geniuses you can take a class on, read half-a-dozen books by and still have no idea what hes talking about.
Derridas writing - confusing doesnt begin to describe it (its like hes pulling the rug out from under the rug that he pulled out from under philosophy.
) But beneath the confusion, like the heartbeat of a bird in your hand, you can feel Derridas electric genius.
It draws you to it; you want to understand it.
but its so confusing.
What you need, Ducky, is Derrida For Beginners by James Powell Jim Powells Derrida For Beginners is the clearest explanation of Derrida and deconstruction presently available in our solar system.
Powell guides us through blindingly obscure texts like Of Grammatology (Derridas deconstruction of Saussure, L vi Strauss, and Rousseau), Diff rance (his essay on language and life), Dissemination (his dismantling of Plato, his rap on Mallarm ), and Derridas other masterpieces (the mere titles can make strong men tremble in terror - Glas, Sign ponge/Signsponge, The Post Card, and Specters of Marx.
) Readers will learn the coolest Derridian buzzwords (e.
, intertextuality, binary oppositions, hymen, sous rature, arche-writing, phallogocentrism), the high-and-low lights of deconstructions history (including the DeMan controvercy), and the various criticisms of Derrida and deconstruction, including Camille Paglias objection that America, the rock-n-roll nation, isnt formal enough to need deconstruction.
The master, however, begs to disagree: America is Deconstruction -Jacques Derrida About the Author: Jim Powell lives in Santa Barbara, California where he enjoys surfing, writing, playing piano, and painting.
His other books include Mandalas: The Dynamics of Vedic Symbolism, Energy and Eros, The Tao of Symbolism, Eastern Philosophy For Beginners, Derrida For Beginners , and Postmodernism For Beginners.
Jim has a Masters Degree in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Sanskrit and Indology.
His thesis was on Vedic mythology.
He also holds a Masters Degree in English Literature and wrote a thesis on Mark Twains relationship with the Mississippi River.
Van Howell is a political cartoonist, caricaturist, and book illustrator ( Derrida For Beginners ).
