One summer I read "Of Grammatology" exclusively while walking for exercise. Also, I was lucky
enough to hear Jacques Derrida lecture during the late nineties on perhaps 6-7 occasions at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland. One of these was a very literary lecture (I'm not sure if
it was recorded/published) on an eccentric spring day--before the university turned on the air-
conditioning system for the campus. One observed Jacques Derrida "wilt" as the heat & humidity
in the room became unbearable. A very humanizing experience for all. And, despite the obvious
advance in his English speaking abilities from the days of his stint as a JHU assistant professor in
1968 when he only spoke French, Derrida still occasionally asked his professorial hosts (Neil
Hertz, Michael Fried, & Richard Macksey) for the English of what he wanted to say. Eventually I'll
retrieve the photos I was able to snap on that occasion "performing paparazzi photography". It
was a virtually unrestrained shoot with good results.
Perhaps these days a manageable introduction to his overall activity might come from reading
around in the interview material with Jacques Derrida available online.
Barry Alpert
On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:16:34 +0100, Anny Ballardini <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Yes, undoubtedly. *Of Grammatology*, from the first to the last page.
>
>On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 4:03 AM, Nathan Hondros <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Should I bother reading Derrida? If so, which book (or which book about
>> his
>> ideas)? My gut feeling is that I'm better off reading a good novel, but
>> I'm
>> open to persuasion.....
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 11:28 PM, Douglas Barbour <
>> [log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > A short while later, along came Derrida!
>> >
>> > Doug
>> > On 24-Mar-08, at 4:29 PM, David Bircumshaw wrote:
>> >
>> > > Mind you, Nathan, there's a long tradition, in writing, of writers
>> > > questioning the worth of writing (and reading!) It goes back far,
>> > > recall the
>> > > Phaedrus, where Plato has Socrates tell:
>> > >
>> > > "But when they came to letters, This, said Theuth, will make the
>> > > Egyptians
>> > > wiser and give them better memories; it is a specific both for the
>> > > memory
>> > > and for the wit. Thamus replied: O most ingenious Theuth, the parent
>> > > or
>> > > inventor of an art is not always the best judge of the utility or
>> > > inutility
>> > > of his own inventions to the users of them. And in this instance,
>> > > you who
>> > > are the father of letters, from a paternal love of your own children
>> > > have
>> > > been led to attribute to them a quality which they cannot have; for
>> > > this
>> > > discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls,
>> > > because
>> > > they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external
>> > > written
>> > > characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have
>> > > discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you
>> > > give your
>> > > disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be
>> > > hearers
>> > > of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be
>> > > omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome
>> > > company,
>> > > having the show of wisdom without the reality."
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