E-raamat: Derrida and the Writing of the Body

Michel Foucault refers to 1965-1970 as, in philosophical terms, `the five brief, impassioned, jubilant, enigmatic years' This book reinterprets Jacques Derrida's work from this period, most especially in L'Ecriture et la Difference (Writing and Difference), and argues that a transformation takes place here which has been marginalised in readings of his work to date. The book then draws out how this `grammatological opening' becomes crucial for Derrida's work in the 1970s and beyond, right up until one of his last readings of embodiment in Le Toucher (On Touching), from 2000, which is focused on the work of Jean-Luc Nancy. Presenting a re-reading of the deconstructive notion of the body (and a `writing of the body' or `l'ecriture du corps') and its operationalisation in the work of the French avant-garde, Derrida and the Writing of the Body draws our attention to the politics of desire and sexuality. A groundbreaking book that engages with the work of key continental theorists, including Artaud, Bataille, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Habermas and Cixous, whilst also examining Derrida's relationship with Plato and feminist theory, it will appeal to a wide range of readers within the social sciences and philosophy, particularly those with interests in gender and sexuality, social theory, continental thought, queer studies and literary theory.

A remarkable book that forcefully and convincingly argues that central to Derrida's thought are issues of embodiment and sexuality. Jones Irwin begins with a nuanced and well-argued analysis of Derrida's debt to Artaud and moves on to examine the important role Bataille and Mallarme play in Derrida's deconstruction of embodiment and desire. With two extraordinary chapters on Derrida and feminism, including a long discussion of deconstruction's contributions to queer theory, this is an essential book not only for serious readers of Derrida, but for all those engaged with issues of embodiment, desire, and politics. Professor Peg Birmingham, DePaul University Chicago, USA