Speaking (of) Derrida
From his earliest texts and throughout the course of his career, Jacques Derrida attempted to articulate the problem of the voice, of the other, of the other’s voice; that is to say: who speaks for the Other? It could even be argued that Derrida’s entire philosophical project—itself a sort of radicalization of hermeneutics and phenomenology mixed with a sharp critique of psychoanalysis and structuralist linguistics—revolves around this translational/transactional problematic, for what is deconstruction but another word for the ways in which alterity always and already disrupts subjectivity-identity?
In our study group we will read the voice of Derrida in the most faithful of ways: our texts are predominately interviews, conversations, lectures. After establishing a firm grounding in the methodology of deconstruction, we will then track this course of action from what on the surface appears as (mere) literary analysis toward the most pressing of ethical concerns: how to live (finally) a life in expectation of a justice underway and still to come?
Readings
• Learning To Live Finally: The Last Interview, Jacques Derrida, trans. Pascale-Anne Brault & Michael Naas
• Deconstruction in a Nutshell: A Conversation with Jacques Derrida, ed with commentary by John Caputo
• “What Is ‘Relevant’ Translation?,” Jacques Derrida, trans. Lawrence Venuti
• “Living On/Border Lines,” Jacques Derrida, trans. James Hulbert, from Deconstruction and Criticism (also in Parages)
• Of Hospitality: Anne Dufourmantelle Invites Jacques Derrida To Respond, trans. Rachel Bowlby
Schedule
All meetings take place Saturdays on Zoom at 2:00 PM Central Time (currently UTC-5/CDT).
#1 – May 3 Learning To Live Finally – 45pp
#2 – May 31 “The Villanova Roundtable” (DN) – 26pp; “Deconstruction in a Nutshell: The Very Idea (!)” (DN chapt 1) – 18pp
#3 – June 28 “The Right to Philosophy” (DN chapt 2) – 22pp; “Khôra: Being Serious with Plato” (DN chapt 3) – 35pp
#4 – July 26 “Community Without Community” (DN chapt 4) – 19pp; “Justice, If Such a Thing Exists” (DN chapt 5) – 31pp
#5 – Aug 23 “The Messianic: Waiting for the Future” (DN chapt 6) – 25pp; “Re-Joyce, Say Yes” (DN chapt 7) – 20pp; “A Concluding Amen” (DN) – 2pp
#6 – Sept 13 “What Is ‘Relevant’ Translation?” – 27pp (suggested: Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice)
#7 – Nov 22 “Living On/Border Lines” – 81pp (suggested: Shelley’s The Triumph of Life; Blanchot’s The Madness of the Day and Death Sentence, trans. Lydia Davis)
#8 – Jan 10 Of Hospitality – 155pp (suggested: Plato’s Apology; Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus)
Registration
The study group is conducted on a pay-what-you-want basis. You can change the amount here or on the new page after clicking the Buy button. Register through the “no charge” portal if do not want to donate. And please let me know if you’re having issues with these Stripe links. Thank you!
