1.
Post -
Structuralism Past
1. Write an Essay
on the Emergence of
Post-Structuralism and Deconstruction.
Whatis Post -
Structuralism?
of
Post-Structuralism is a continuation and development
structuralism. At the same time,it is a of rebelion against
form
a gradual shift of emphasis. The post-structuralists accus
structuralists of notfollowinathrouah the implication of the vie
of language on which their intellectual system is based.
Structuralism views lanquage as that which does not
reflect or record the world, instead, shapes it, so that how one
it
sees what one sees. As a consequence of this beliet, One
is
enters a universe of radical uncertainty. One has no
certain
standard by which to measure anything.
Structuralism is based on the notions of Saussure
() synchronic study of language, (i) the distinction between
langue' (system) and 'parole' (particular use) and (iii) the
arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign and the associative bond
that unites the 'signifier'and the 'signified'. Language as a total
M.KU-V 24
system is independent questions
of reality, Post-Structuralism
Some of the assumptions of structuralism. Post-Structuralists
signifier and
have praised apart the two halves of the sign-(the
nature of the
the signified). They have discovered the unstable
two sides;
signification. According |
tothem, sign is not a unit with
but a momentary fix between the two layers.
Post-Structuralists question the linguistic sign
is no uncontaminated signifier. We find several
There
always already in
signifier.The signified
is
signifieds for one
as signifier.This creates a lot of problems in
place elsewhere
arriving at the meaning. For example, the signifier 'crib' has
several signifieds--manger, child's bed, hut, job, etc., As a
signifier, bed' has several signifieds - a place for sleeping,a
garden a channel of a river etc.,
plot, The chain continues and
there is no one to one relation.
Background and origin of
Post-Structuralism
Post-Structuralism emerged in France in the late 1960 's.
The two figures closely
associated with this
Roland Barthes and emergence are
Jacques Derrida. Barthes's
this time began work around
to shift in
character and move
structuralist phase to a
from a
post-structuralist phase.
essay, The Death of The crucial
the Author(1968) is
the juncture
Barthes turns from where
Structuralism to
he asserts the Post-Structuralism. Here,
independence of the
literary text and
immunity to the possibility its
of being
notion of what
the author
unified or limited by
might have any
intended.
26
ons M.KU.-VI
Michel Focault
ists and Roland Barthes
evacuation of the signalised the
traditional conception
and of the author by
announcing "the disappearance
the the author or
of
melodramatically, "
the death of the author".
even nore
They free the reader
les, toenter the literary text in
whatever way he or she chooses,
Hence,this early phase of
Post-Structuralism seems to license
and revel in the endless free play of meanings
and the escape
from all forms of textual authority.
ral
Jacques Derrida
in
in The second main figure in the development of
as Post- Structuralism is Jacques Derrida. The starting point of
a Post-Structura lism may be taken as his 1966 lecture
"Structure and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences."
nd Derrida sees a particular intellectual event which constitutes a
radical break from the past way of thought.This event concerns
'decentering' of ourintellectual universe. His philosophy is akin
to that of a Nietzsche and Heideggerand the psychoanalysis of
Freud.
'S.
re According to Derrida, in the universe there are no
nd
absolutes or fixedpoints so that the universe is 'decentred'.
Instead of movement or deviation from a known centre, all we
ial have is free play. In this sense, Nietzche's famous remark," there
re areno facts,only interpretations" is relevant. This can be viewed
e,
as the corner stone of Post-Structuralism. Derrida embraces
ts thisdecentred universe of free play as liberating, just as Roland
Barthes celebrates the demise of the author as ushering in
an
eraof freedom.
KU-V
Conclusion
became linked to the
Barthes
From the 1970's viewed the
theory The Post-Structuralists
never - ending
Post-Structuralist
a but as a
text not so much as
structure
to be engaged in the task of
structuringprocess They began
deconstucting the text
2. Discussthe differences between Structuralism
and
Post-Structuralism.
It will be interesting to compare and contrast both
structuralism and Post-Structuralism. Peter Barry, in his
Beginning Theary, has beautifully brought out the
differences between the two. We can list the differences under
four heads:
L Origins
Structuralism derives basically from linguistics.
Linguistics is a discipline which is confident about the
possibility of establishing objective knowledge. Also,
Structuralism believes in method, system and reason as being
ableto establish reliabletruths.
But, Post-Structuralism derives
basically from philosophy. Philosophy is a discipline which
emphasises the difficulty of
achieving secure knowledge about
things.
Post-Structuralism regards any confidence in the
scientific method as naive. It derives a certain intellectual
pleasure from knowing
for certain what one cannot know
anything forcertain.
27 M.KU.-VI
Tone and Style
Structuralist writingtends towards abstraction and
generalisation. It aimsfor adetached scientific
coolnessof tone.
The style is neutral and anonvmous.
f It is typical of scientific
writing. Post-structuralist writing tends to be much more
emotive. Often the tone is urgent and euphoric and the stye
self-consciously showy. The central line of argument is based
on a pun or a word - play of some kind.
Attitude to Language
S Structuralists accept that the world is constructed througn
e language, in the sense that we do not have access to reality other
than through the linguistic medium. But, the Post-Structuralists
argue that words do not have any fixed meaning because
verbal sign is constantly floating free of the concept it is
supposed to designate. The user of a language is never fully in
control of the medium of language. Therefore, meanings
S is the
cannot be planted in set places. Linguistic anxiety
e keynote of the Post -Structuralistic outlook.
Fundamental Aim
ng
es Atfirst Structuralism,questionsour way of structuring and
ch categorizing reality, and prompts us to break free of habitual
Dut
modes of perception or categorisation but believes that we can
he thereby attain a more reliable view of things.
ual
Post-Structuralism distrusts the very notion of reason, and
the idea of the human being as an independent entity
preferring the notion of the dissolved' or 'constructed'subiect
28
M.KU-VI
as the individual is really a
think of
whereby what we may
product of social
-that is, not an essence
and linguistic forces
at all, merely a tiss ue of textualities". The scepticism of
Post-Structuralism burns away the intellectual
ground on which
is built.
the Western civilization
ofDeconstruction
3. Discuss the features
Introduction
of all earlier
Deconstruction is a radical destabilisation
movements in literature. It is the most philosophically oriented
and the most theorised movement among the recent
literary
theories. Jacques Derrida inaugurated the late
1960's and it
became a great influence on literary studies in the theory of
Deconstuction in the late 1970's. His writings are both a
continuation and a critique of structuralism. His much
anthologised paper, "Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse
of Human Sciences" (1969) inaugurated this new movement
and influenced literary study all over the world.
What is Deconstruction?
Deconstruction is no longer a newW phenomenon ;
it has
been absorbed in contemporary critical thought. For Derrida,
language is not a reliable mode of communication; it is fluid
and slippery.One signifierrefers to a
chain of signifiers in the
mind. It means that language is non-referential.
Each and every
signifier produces other signifiersin a
never-ending "deferralof
meaning.
20
According to Derrida, MKUV
we
haveto use
available tool for langusge asthe only
to refer to
communication, He usos the term
this, "bricolage
Bricolage is the
materials at hand, It process of assemblingfrom
refers to the act
from different of
borrowing
sources,and concepo
redesigning them to
He demonstrates this suit one's
neeo
activity by putting
ie by writing words "under erasuro
them and then erasing
of stretching the them, There is a
possibility
language for our
benefit.
General Methods In
Deconstruction
Deconstruction involves close
textual analysis and
argument to reveal the rhetorical or
logical contradictions in
texts,to demonstrate how the
apparent and explicit logic of a
textis undermined or
contradicted by the hidden text (or subtex)
Three stages may be located in a deconstructive practice:
a) Deconstruction analyses
the binary opposition
(man /woman, inside / outside, black / white) to reveal their
hierarchical nature.
b) It then overturns this hierarchy to reveal how
what appears
privileged is actually undercut by the suppressed term of
the hierarchy.
c) As a thirdstage, deconstruction displaces both terms thus
preventing a new hilerarchy. To this end,
deconstructive
reading may selze upon a minor detail -a
footnote or
epigraph, a marginal reference in the main text, -
works this
detail through the main text
to demonstrate how even this
marginal note may subvert the
main text, thus reversing
the main hierarchy of the text's
organization.
30
MKU-VM
The Use of Deconstruction
and system of
result of the culture
Alreadings are the a text, he draws
beliefs we possess
When an author constructs also
he is familiar with. The reader
upon the cultural milieu in
milieu he is raised
on the cultural
Constructs a text
drawing
the undecidability of the
Deconstruction helps us to get to know
is composed of.
the text
text, and the complex ideologies
and any deconstructive
Meanings are always disseminated
a fleeting moment of this
reading of a text catches
dissemination.
Description of a Deconstructive Act
is not
According to Barbara Johnson, Deconstruction
synonymous with destruction. It is closer to the meaning
'analysis', which etymologically means to undo'-a synonym for
to deconstruct'. The deconstruction of a text proceedsby careful
Tteasing out of warring forces' of signification within thetext itself.
The object of deconstructing text is to examine the process
of fits production.
The aim is to locatethe point of contradiction
within thetext.Composed of
contradictions, the text is no longer
restricted to a single
harmonious and authoritative
reading.
Instead, it becomes
'plural' open to
re-reading. It is no longeran
object of passive
consumption but an object of
toproduce work by the reader
meaning.
Conclusion
While
Deconstruction is
Gayatri defended by
critics like
Spivak and Hillis Miller,
others, there
Gerard Gaff, are critics like
Wayne Boothand M.H. Abrams,
others who
repudiateitsclamis
31
and crinicise its methods. They call it nihlistic and ahistorical.
appealing to chosen elitists, ignoring the presence of the
common reader.
4. Explain what is
meant by 'Logocentrism' according
to Derrida
Every philosophical fundamental
system has a base, a
grounding, an organizing isthe
principle. For structuralism, it
innate structures of the human consciousness that generates
human experiences. Derrida feels that these Concepts are
stable.
constantly changing,though they are expectedtoremain
Derrida calls this "logocentric".
on
By logocentric" we mean, they are centred or grounded
a logos' (which in Greek means 'word' and 'rationality'). It places
the centre of its understanding of the world a concept
(ogos)
at
world, while itself remaining
that orders and organizes the
is an illusion in VWestern
outside the world it organizes. This
In his famous essay,
philosophy according to Derrida.
of the Human Science",
"Structure,Sign and Play in Discourse
and yet,
he says, "The centre is at the centre of the totality,
not part of the
since the centre does not belong to the totality (is
totality), the totality has its centre elsewhere. The centre
governs a structure, but is itself not subject to structural analysis.
We desire a centre ; it guarantees being as presence.
this desire for a
Derrida calls centre
'logocentrism'.
is the belief that the first and the last
Logocentrism things are
the divine
the logos, the word, mind, the
infinite
understanding
of all things. In the Eitie,
of dod.In theology, word was the origin
we find,"In the beginning was the word,
the word was with God
and the word was
w God"
God's word is spoken. A spoken word is closer to the
original thought that a writen word. Privileging of speech over
writing is "phonocentrism" Logocetrisrn and phonocentrism are
both governed by the human desire to point toa central
presence atthe beginning and at the end.
5. Comment on the contribution ofJacques Derrida to
Deconstruction
Jacques Derrida is oneofthe greatest French philosophers
of the 20th century. He taught philosophyin Paris. He exercised
a tremendous influence on literary studies by introducing the
doctrine of Deconstruction, which marked the beginning ofthe
era of post-structuralism. Hisfamous paper "Structure,Sign
and Play in the Discourse of Human Science", presented ata
conference held at John Hopkin's university in 1966, brought
about a revolutionary change in the field of humanities and
criticism.Again, his influence on theAmerican Universities was
so overvwhelming that a school of Deconstructive criticism was
founded there, during the 1970's and the 1980's. Heauthored
very important books like OfGrammatology
(1976), Whiting and
Difference (1978) and Dissemination (1982) and
several
papers numbering about eighty.
33
le, M.K.U.- VI
sod Derrida's paper
"Structure,
Sign n and Play"is very important
in the history of literary
criticism, In the
t marks the moment words of David Lodge
at which
he movement begins, opposing
post-structuralism as a
itself to
classical
as to traditional
well structuralism as
er
humanism and empiricism. He evolved a
new school of thought
re known as
Deconstruction.
al
Derrida himself
has not given a pet definition of
deconstruction. He said it had to be arrived at through or
re-reading thetexts.
of It may be defined as the re-reading a
breaking down of a text to show the multiple meanings at work
within language."
Derrida begins with the notion of difference expounded by
Saussure, who said that signs derive their meaning only in their
e difference from other signs. Derrida saysthat meaning is not
always present is a sign. It is relational and dependent on its
presence among a chain ofothersigns. Meaning is never present
in one sign alone; it is dispersed. (disseminated).
According to Derrida, language is structured as an endless
deferral of meaning and any search for the essential, absolute
stable meaning must be considered metaphysical. There is no
fixed element, no fundamental unit. The free play of signifiers
will never yield a final, unified meaning that in turn mightground
and explain all others.
He has influencedgreat critics like Paul de Man,
Hilis Miller.
Geoffrey Hartman and Harold Bloom.
