deconstructionism
Text interpretation theory
Deconstructionism is a method of critical analysis, primarily in philosophy and literary theory, that questions the stability of meaning in texts.
It holds that language never settles into fixed meanings—words defer endlessly to other words, and texts undermine their own apparent claims.
Associated with Jacques Derrida, deconstructionism became influential in academic humanities from the 1970s onward: Her deconstructionist reading revealed contradictions the author seemed unaware of.
Critics sometimes use the term loosely to mean any skeptical dismantling of conventional ideas.
Grammatology's French author
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
- supplementSomething added to complete
- presenceState of being somewhere
absence · dissemination · Western philosophy · Heidegger · Nietzsche · phenomenology · ontology · epistemology
Connections between written works
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
palimpsest · slippage · citation · writing · speech · marginalia · footnotes · literary criticism
Undermining established authority
- destabilizationCausing loss of stability
- underminingWeakening by covert means
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
- dismantlingTaking apart systematically
unraveling · exposing · interrogating · power structures · hierarchies · oppositions · privilege · marginalization
Building design discipline
- literary theorySystematic study of texts
- legal studiesAcademic examination of law
- theologyStudy of the divine
- political theoryStudy of governance principles
gender studies · postcolonialism · queer theory · art criticism · film theory
Derrida's term for masculine-linguistic dominance
- essentialismDoctrine of fixed natures
- foundationalismKnowledge rests on basics
- originStarting point or source
- presenceState of being somewhere
truth · certainty · binary thinking · metaphysics · totalization · closure · universalism
Openness to multiple interpretations
- polysemyWord having related meanings
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- opennessQuality of being accessible
- multiplicityState of being many
fluidity · deferral · play · slippage · uncertainty · indeterminacy · paradox · contradiction
Derrida
Grammatology's French author
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- traceMinute remnant or pursue
- supplementSomething added to complete
presence · absence · dissemination · Western philosophy · Heidegger · Nietzsche · phenomenology · ontology · epistemology
intertextuality
Connections between written works
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- signifierMeaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
discourse · palimpsest · slippage · citation · writing · speech · marginalia · footnotes · literary criticism · reader-response
subversion
Undermining established authority
- destabilizationCausing loss of stability
- underminingWeakening by covert means
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
dismantling · unraveling · exposing · interrogating · power structures · hierarchies · oppositions · privilege · marginalization · center
architecture
Building design discipline
- literary theorySystematic study of texts
- legal studiesAcademic examination of law
- theologyStudy of the divine
political theory · gender studies · postcolonialism · queer theory · art criticism · film theory
phallogocentrism
Derrida's term for masculine-linguistic dominance
- essentialismDoctrine of fixed natures
- foundationalismKnowledge rests on basics
- originStarting point or source
presence · truth · certainty · binary thinking · metaphysics · totalization · closure · universalism
ambiguity
Openness to multiple interpretations
- polysemyWord having related meanings
- instabilityTendency toward unpredictable change
- opennessQuality of being accessible
multiplicity · fluidity · deferral · play · slippage · uncertainty · indeterminacy · paradox · contradiction · tension
- ismscapitalism, socialism, communism, anarchism, racism
- -ismsatomism, postmodernism, feminism, Marxism, Darwinism
- critical theoryMarxism, feminism, simulacrum, postcolonialism, hegemony
- French LiteratureVictor Hugo, Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Dumas, Jules Verne
- Ideasidealism, materialism, empiricism, rationalism, liberalism
- philosophiesempiricism, stoicism, nihilism, idealism, materialism
deconstructionismformalism
Privileging structure over substance
New Criticism · structuralism · textualism · originalism · literal interpretation
deconstructionismessentialism
Doctrine of fixed natures
foundationalism · objectivism · Platonism · realism · absolutism
deconstructionismtraditionalism
Adherence to inherited customs
positivism · conservatism · dogmatism · constructivism · systematizing