Re: [microsound] Wynona Derrida

[ph_L th0m50n <hellomynameisphil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm still working on digesting all the "classics" (_Grammatology_,
_Writing and Difference_, etc.). I confess a lot of it is beyond my
understanding, and I also have trouble with the abstractness of it
sometimes. I must confess I also own _Derrida for Beginners_, which is
actually not bad for what it is. Ditto for _Structuralism and
Poststructuralism for Beginners_. Another one which is kind of cute is a
tiny essay published as part of the Postmodern Encounters series (sounds
kind of like an alien invasion or something) called "Derrida and the End
of History", which is a beginner-level exegesis of _Specters of Marx_.
The nice thing about it is that it makes explicit a lot of the political
context which is taken for granted in Derrida's work. It also has a nice
cover. :0)
 
Those aren't my main recommendations, though. For starting with Derrida
(or even finishing with Derrida), I would actually recommend going to
some of the Anglo-American writers whose work applies Derridean theory
in other contexts. Judith Butler (_Gender Trouble_, Bodies That Matter_,
_The Psychic Life of Power_) applies deconstruction to feminism and
queer theory (among other things) in a way I never cease to find
engaging. Elizabeth Grosz (_Volatile Bodies_, _Space, Time and
Perversion_) does much the same. Barbara Johnson's article in _The
Purloined Letter_ is a fabulous deconstruction of Derrida deconstructing
Lacan psychoanalyzing Poe. _Hegemony and Socialist Strategy_ by Ernesto
Laclau and Chantal Mouffe uses Derrida's notion of the constitutive
outside to deconstruct political community and conflict (i haven't
actually read much of this one, but ya know, it's their "hit", so I
thought I would mention it). Homi Bhabha's _The Location of Culture_
applies Derridean theory to a post-colonial context. Much of the work of
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak does this as well (even her introduction to
her translation of the Grammatology is quite amazing). Robert
Berscanoni's article in Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze's _Postcolonial African
Philosophy_ ties in with Derrida quite nicely... Um, yeah. That's about
all for now. 
 
ph:L
 

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<-----Original Message----->
>Hi all 
> 
>Its great this talk of Derrida . I wanted something to take with me to 
>Singapore and bought what I thought would be a great intro to the man
and 
>his thoughts... 
> 
>I picked up Deconstrustion Engaged, published in Australia it is
Seminars in 
>Sydney and Melbourne from '99....its a start :-) 
> 
>any other recomendations?