Jacques Derrida is, in a month or so's time, doing a speech (in a theatre that just last week was playing my own work, coincidentally) - he must like Australia as he turns up here every five years or so. Now, as Scottie would know I'm a reknown Francophile. However, when even a senior lecturere at Sydney University admits that a lot of Derrida is bollocks, *then* you have to start worrying. I never studied him myself, he has too much of a reputation for being downright impossible. I'll hedge my bets on Baudrillard, tho. Camille verona_beach@geocities.com Paul Kennedy wrote: > OK... If it's "You show me yours, and I'll show you mine...." > > I've read Lacan, Derridas (sp?) and Foucault.... (I had much more fun > reading the medieval scholastic idiots whom they most resemble in > intellectual history....) > > (I've also read MOST of Chomsky--and met him six or seven times.... And the > ONLY time he makes sense is when he's talking about REAL life.... IE the > books that DON'T get published in the US of A because they're deemed--by > that country's 'revolutionary' government--to be 'subversive'.....) > > Masturbation should ONLY be a last ditch defense! > > Cheers, > > Paul > > > > > > >In a message dated 8/5/99 5:55:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time, > >kennedyp@toronto.cbc.ca writes: > > > ><< > > Let me say from the beginning that I've never read the post-Structuralists > > (or whatever we're supposed to call all the bullshit that's usually badly > > translated from the French) or any of the other latter-day literary > > theorists who, for my money, quite obviously enjoy masturbation much more > > than they enjoy sex. What a bunch of hooey! -- Paul>> > > > >I agree with just about your whole post (esp. reading other writers...and not > >just one), but this gave me pause: > > > >First rule of intellectual honesty is that if you haven't read an author, you > >don't have a right to an opinion. It is true that much of post-structuralism > >is maturbatory, but there's some pretty intelligent observations about > >language and how it is used too (and what our use of language means). > > > >Spouting opinions about a book, an author, or a philosophy wihout reading > >primary sources first -- THAT'S hooey. No different from people counting the > >number of "fuck yous" in Catcher and not bothering to read what they mean > >within the context of the novel. > > > >Jim > > > >PS I've never read the archives myself :) > > > > _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com