Review by Choice Review
Eighteen articles from the May 1983 conference of the International Association of Philosophy and Literature flesh out some of the implications of Derrida's and De Man's deconstruction for contemporary philosophy and theories of criticism. The thesis is that there are different types of deconstruction and that these "strategies of reading" are compatible with contemporary theories of language and criticism. Although these articles are seven years old, most have been revised for this volume; each of the six groups of articles is summarized with able remarks by Gary Aylesworth (Eastern Illinois University). This volume makes a nice companion to Hermeneutics and Deconstruction, ed. by H.J. Silverman and D. Ihde (CH, Apr'86) and Postmodernism and Continental Philosophy, ed. by H.J. Silverman and D. Welton (1988). Paul de Man, Rodolphe Gashe, and Irene E. Harvey contribute three of the six articles on De Man's deconstruction. Eugenio Donato and David Wood write on Derrida's relation to the later Heidegger. The volume also presents essays titled "Deconstructing Translation" and "Alternatives to Deconstruction." A most intelligible collection of specialized articles with an extensive bibliography. Recommended for advanced undergraduates and above. J. M. Rose Goucher College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review