Deconstruction

‘An inspiring and dazzling tour de force that revolutionised my thinking’ Gary Day, Times Higher Education Supplement

Academic game? Dangerous weapon? The most important development in twentieth-century literary studies? Setting out to shake not only literary critical assumptions but the very foundations of Western thought, deconstruction remains one of the most controversial yet crucial strands of contemporary critical theory.

Since first appearing in 1982, Deconstruction: Theory and Practice has been acclaimed as by far the most readable, concise and authoritative guide to this topic. While in no way oversimplifying its complexity or glossing over the challenges it presents, Christopher Norris’s book sets out to make deconstruction more accessible to the open-minded reader. The volume focuses upon the texts of Jacques Derrida which gave rise to this seismic shift in critical thought, as well as the work of Paul de Man, Geoffrey Hartman, J. Hillis Miller and Harold Bloom, the North American critics who have taken Derrida’s project in their own directions.

Inherent in the very idea of deconstruction, however, is the need to revisit, rethink, reassess. In this third, revised edition, Norris builds upon his 1991 Afterword to add an entirely new Postcript, discussing the central topics and development in recent critical debate. The Postscript includes an extensive list of recommended reading, complementing what was already one of the most useful bibliographies available. More than ever in this new edition, Deconstruction is the book to revolutionize your thinking.

Christopher Norris is Distinguished Research Professor in Philosophy at the University of Cardiff, Wales, having until 1991 taught in the Cardiff English Department. He has also held fellowships and visiting appointments at a number of institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley, the City University of New York and Dartmouth College.