Poststructuralism Overview and Theories

Poststructuralism Overview

• Poststructuralism emerged in the late 1960s as a response to structuralism.
• It comprises various perspectives and is particularly associated with Jacques Derrida's deconstruction.
• Derrida's work was a significant early contribution to poststructuralism in the US.
• Poststructuralism is intrinsically linked to structuralism, building upon and critiquing its fundamental principles.
• It aims to challenge the perceived scientific pretensions of structuralism.

Poststructuralist Theories/Versions

• Deconstruction is a key poststructuralist theory.
• Postcolonialism is another poststructuralist theory.
• African-American studies and gender studies are also connected to poststructuralism.
• New Historicism and feminism also fit within the broader framework of poststructuralism.

Poststructuralist Tendencies/Major Assumptions

• Truth is relative rather than absolute.
• Poststructuralists challenge the idea of absolute truth and view truth as constructed and provisional.
• Rejecting total theories or grand narratives that attempt to explain every aspect.
• Relativism is central to this philosophy, leading to an understanding that there's no such thing as universal truth.
• Language is not simply a reflection of the real world but actively creates it.
• Language shapes our understanding and speaks through us rather than us speaking through it.
• Meaning is not fixed but fluid, contingent, and ambiguous, especially in literary texts.

Poststructuralism & Structuralism

• Poststructuralism shares structuralism's anti-humanist perspective.
• It also follows structuralism's focus on language as a key to understanding ourselves and the world.
• Poststructuralism challenges and simultaneously builds on structuralism but critiques a fixed and stable meaning.
• Poststructuralism undermines structuralism by examining and dismantling its core assumptions.

Language for Structuralists

• Structuralists applied the idea of an underlying structure and the principle of difference to language.
• They saw no inherent link between a word and its referent in the real world.
• The word (signifier) and the thing it refers to (signified) are viewed as separate systems within the structure of language itself.
• Structuralism recognized a distinction between langue (abstract language system), and parole (actual utterances). Utterances arise from langue.

Language for Poststructuralists

• The 'Illusion of Presence' in language: Poststructuralists challenge the notion of direct contact with reality through language.
• They highlight the inherent instability and ambiguity of language, recognizing it's inherently fluid and non-static.
• Language implies difference, which also leads to a lack of presence (absence), and meaning isn't self-contained, immediate or present. 
• Language plays havoc with meaning, not stable, and contingent, arising from differences and deferrals.
• Meaning is fluid, rather than fixed and relies on a system of differences.

Nature of Signification (Structuralists)

• Ferdinand de Saussure demonstrated that signifier (word) and signified (concept) are separate.
• He did not fully explain how their combination creates meaning.

Nature of Signification (Poststructuralists)

• The sign is a momentary fix between moving layers, and there's no inherent stability, or unit.
• Every signifier can have many signifieds (ex. "crib" is a bed, a manger, a job etc).
• Meaning arises from differences and deferrals.
• Meaning is constantly being renegotiated and reinterpreted.

Binary Oppositions (Structuralists)

• Structuralists looked for binary oppositions (good/evil, true/false, etc.) in texts to highlight their meaning.
• They highlight the ways that binary opposition organize and make sense of reality.

Binary Oppositions (Poststructuralists)

• Poststructuralists expose binary oppositions as a method of understanding the world and language.
• Deconstruction aims to break these oppositions to demonstrate contingent and unstable meanings. 
• Poststructuralists recognize the importance of the interplay of terms. They argue they are not fixed or truly oppositional but dependent on difference.

Barthes

• Roland Barthes was a key figure, challenging the traditional view that authors are the sole meaning makers.
• He argued that meaning arises from the interplay of language and signs within a text.
• All texts are constructed; the belief in a singular authoritative truth/meaning is arbitrary and arbitrary. 
• Meaning is not solely determined by the author, but resides and arises from the text itself and surrounding systems of language.

Explore the foundational concepts of poststructuralism that emerged in the late 1960s, including key figures like Jacques Derrida. This quiz delves into poststructuralist theories such as deconstruction and their relationships with various fields including gender studies and postcolonialism. Challenge your understanding of truth and its relativity as perceived by poststructuralists.