understanding poststructuralism Understanding Movements in Modern Thought Series Editor: Jack Reynolds Th is series provides short, accessible and lively introductions to the major schools, movements and traditions in philosophy and the h istory of ideas since the beginning of the Enlightenment. All books in the series are written for undergraduates meeting the subject for the fi rst time. Published Understanding Existentialism Understanding Virtue Ethics Jack Reynolds Stan van Hooft Understanding Poststructuralism James Williams Forthcoming titles include Understanding Empiricism Understanding Hermeneutics Robert Meyers Lawrence Schmidt Understanding Ethics Understanding Naturalism Tim Chappell Jack Ritchie Understanding Feminism Understanding Phenomenology Peta Bowden and Jane Mummery David Cerbone Understanding German Idealism Understanding Rationalism Will Dudley Charlie Heunemann Understanding Hegelianism Understanding Utilitarianism Robert Sinnerbrink Tim Mulgan understanding poststructuralism James Williams For Richard and Olive It is always about who you learn from. First published in 2005 by Acumen Published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © James Williams, 2005 Th is book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notices Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. ISBN 13: 978-1-84465-032-3 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-1-84465-033-0 (pbk) Work on Chapter 3 was supported by British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Designed and typeset in Garamond by Kate Williams, Swansea. Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations ix 1 Introduction: What is poststructuralism? 1 2 Poststructuralism as deconstruction: 25 Jacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology 3 Poststructuralism as philosophy of diff erence: 53 Gilles Deleuze’s Diff erence and Repetition 4 Poststructuralism as philosophy of the event: 79 Lyotard’s Discours, fi gure 5 Poststructuralism, history, genealogy: 105 Michel Foucault’s Th e Archaeology of Knowledge 6 Poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, linguistics: 133 Julia Kristeva’s Revolution in Poetic Language 7 Poststructuralism into the future 153 Questions for discussion and revision 167 Further reading 171 Publications timeline 174 Index 177 contents v This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements I should like to thank Th e Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for its generous funding for research in Paris libraries. La Bibliothèque du Saulchoir, Paris, provided a stimulating research environment and a wonderful research resource. Work on Chapter 3 was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Material from Chapter 3 was presented at the Experimenting with Intensities Conference (May 2004) at Trent University, Canada, with travel funded by the British Acad- emy, and at the Writing/History: Deleuzian Events Conference (June 2005) at the University of Cologne. Chapter 4 was presented in part at the Department of Political Science, Carleton University, Canada. I am grateful for their support and very useful feedback. Chapter 1 was presented at the Graduate Visiting Speaker Series, Department of E nglish Literature, University of Edinburgh. Parts of this book were also presented at the Research Seminar in the Philosophy Department, University of Dundee. Th e University of Dundee funded sabbatical leave for this project. Kurt Brandhorst, Claire Colebrook, Nicholas Davey, John Drummond, Penny Fielding, Lily Forrester, Rachel Jones, Beth Lord, Valentine Moulard, Aislinn O’Donnell, Keith Ansell Pear- son, John Protevi, Dan Smith, Michael Wheeler, Frédéric Worms and many others challenged and helped me in conversations and through their research. At Acumen Steven Gerrard, Tristan Palmer and Kate Williams made this a much better book through their careful editorial advice. My undergraduate and postgraduate classes and tutees gave me the opportunity to try out many parts of this work in a sympathetic but critical environment. Th ey prompted ideas in ways that can never be acknowledgements vii traced fully, but that are the lifeblood of academic work. I am grateful to all friends, students and colleagues for their comments and help, but claim all errors and imprecision as mine all mine. A work owes more than could ever be quantifi ed to the time, love and spaces that others make for it, should anyone be foolish or crude enough to try. In all of these, my immeasurable debts are to you, Claire. viii understanding poststructuralism Abbreviations AK Foucault, Th e Archaeology of Knowledge (London: Routledge, 1989). D Derrida, “Diff érance”, in Margins of Philosophy, A. Bass (trans.), 1–28 (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1984). DR Deleuze, Diff erence and Repetition, P. Patton (trans.) (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995). DF Lyotard, Discours, fi gure (Paris: Klincksieck, 1971). HRS Deleuze, “How do we Recognize Structuralism”, in Desert Islands and Other Texts (1953–1974), M. Taormina (trans.), 170–92 (New York: Semiotext(e), 2003). OG Derrida, Of Grammatology, G. C. Spivak (trans.) (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974). PS Deleuze, Proust and Signs, R. Howard (trans.) (London: Con- tinuum, 2000). RPL Kristeva, Revolution in Poetic Language, M. Waller (trans.) (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984). TD Lyotard, Th e Diff erend: Phrases in Dispute (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1988). WPU Deleuze, “What Prisoners want from Us”, in Desert Islands and Other Texts (1953–1974), M. Taormina (trans.), 204–5 (New York: Semiotext(e), 2003). abbreviations ix