More on Derrida
My friend Jordan L., who last weighed in on Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutierrez back in June, is back with his characteristic insights.
I knew somewhere deep down inside, when I was hastily pecking out my thoughts regarding the passing of noted philosopher Jacques Derrida, that one of my readers would question my assertion that the famed deconstructionist “took all the fun out of literature.” And so Jordan has.
He sends along a New York Times op-ed called “What Derrida Really Meant.” It’s worth reading.
It was, I see now, perhaps incorrect of me to associate Derrida with the dreaded political correctness that has infected the critical study of literature. I loathe such philosophies; for me, studying in college, Shakespeare, for example, was just Shakespeare: brilliant plays by a brilliant author. But to many of my English professors, Shakespeare wasn’t Shakespeare–he was a dead white male who represented the hegemonic class structures, racism, sexism, and homophobia of 17th-century England. (And then there were those who denied that Shakespeare even wrote his plays, but they’re another story.)
Reading the op-ed Jordan sent along, though, I see that Derrida may not truly be linked to these schools of thought.