Derrida’s Of Grammatology : (Hi)stories of Writing

Let us track and trap Derrida right before he went down the rabbit hole. The Algerian-born French Philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), leader of the era of Post-Structuralism and father of the concept-method of deconstruction, marked the history of books with a big bang : 1967. Within one year, he would place himself on the map of philosophy, literary criticism and related fields through three remarked publications. Writing and Difference compiles essays and papers developed and presented from 1962 onwards, where Derrida demonstrates the scope of his models and inspirations across traditions, his mastery and creative re-interpretation of their thoughts, and he suggests subtly the grand lines that will constitute the difference and novelty of his thought. In the short Speech and Phenomena, Derrida looks more closely at Husserl, still one of his closest influences, and further elaborates a central critique that will lead to his formulation of the terms of deconstruction and différance.

But the 1967 of Derrida is perhaps best remembered for the classic Of Grammatology, his first grand treatise. The text elaborates a critical reading of de Saussure, Levi-Strauss and Rousseau to formulate what will be no less than a little revolution in the way western culture has considered the written vis-a-vis the spoken, and the underlying metaphysical assumptions behind this relation. The book also compiles with a remarkable density a critical review of centuries of theoretical speculations on writing, its origin and its function, from the fields of linguistics, history and anthropology. The prose of this treatise is still generally theoretical and broadly accessible, before Derrida would decide to do his big dive, trusting his literary style to go down the free play. This course offers to undertake a close reading of Of Grammatology in order to build strong foundations for anyone tempted to explore Derrida further.

Biographical elements from Derrida : A Biography by Benoit Peeters will be discussed alongside the direct study of Derrida’s texts. Mentions of Writing and Difference, with recommended reading portions, will also be provided.