Deconstructing Context: Exposing Derrida

Author(s): Clive Barnett

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 24, No. 3 (1999),
pp. 277-293
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of
British Geographers)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/623128 .
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Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
Clive Ba rnett
Deconstruction ha s become a theme in va rious stra nd s of
geogra phica l
resea rch. It
ha s
not, however,
been the
subject
of much
ex plicit commenta ry.
This
pa per
ela bora tes on some ba sic themes
concerning
the
rela tionship
between d econstruction
a nd
conceptua liza tions
of
contex t,
with
pa rticula r
reference to issues of tex tua l
interpreta tion.
The d ouble
d ispla cement
of
tex tua lity
cha ra cteristic of d econstruction
is
d iscussed ,
followed
by
a consid era tion of the themes of
'writing'
a nd
'itera bility'
a s d istinctive
figures
for a n a lterna tive
spa tia liza tion
of
concepts
of contex t. It is
a rgued
tha t d econstruction informs a
questioning
of the norma tive
a ssumptions
und erwriting
the va lue a nd
empirica l id entity
of contex t.
key
word s Derrid a d econstruction contex t
interpreta tion spa cing tex tua lity
Depa rtment
of
Geogra phy, University
of
Rea d ing, Whiteknights,
PO Box
227,
Rea d ing
RG6 2AB
ema il:
c.ba mett@rea d ing.a c.uk
revised
ma nuscript
received 1 Ma rch 1999
Thinking thrusting a ga inst
the limits of
la ngua ge?
La ngua ge
is not a
ca ge. (Wa isma nn 1965, 15)
If word s a nd
concepts
receive
mea ning only
in
sequences
of
d ifferences,
one ca n
justify
one's
la ngua ge,
a nd one's choice of
terms,
only
within a
topic
[a n
orienta tion in
spa ce]
a nd a n historica l
stra tegy.
The
justifica tion
ca n therefore never be a bsolute a nd
d efinitive. It
correspond s
to a cond ition of forces a nd
tra nsla tes a n historica l ca lcula tion.
(Derrid a 1976, 70)
Stitching up
Derrid a
Deconstruction,
a nd the work of
Ja cques
Derrid a in
pa rticula r,
ha s ta ken
up
a
pla ce
in
geogra phy's
pa noply
of theoretica l reference
points through
a d iverse set of d eba tes a nd d iscussions
a round
postmod ernism, post-structura lism, post-
colonia lism,
the cultura l
turn, feminism,
id entity
politics,
the crisis of
representa tion
a nd so on. And
yet
it continues to be trea ted a s a
peculia rly
esoteric
d iscourse,
by
d etra ctors a nd d efend ers a like. This
pa per
ela bora tes on some ba sic themes
concerning
the
rela tionship
between d econstruction a nd con-
ceptua liza tions
of
contex t,
with
pa rticula r
reference
to issues of tex tua l
interpreta tion.
The mod est a im
is to rend er a
representa tion
of d econstruction a s
a n
a ccessible,
open
a nd usea ble
supplement
to
ex isting geogra phica l method ologies.
The
pa per
sta rts with a d iscussion of the
d eployment
of
d econstruction in
geogra phy,
a nd
proceed s
to a
critique
of the
conceptua liza tion
of contex t a s a
principle
of
ex pla na tion
a nd
interpreta tion.
It then
provid es
a n a ccount of the d econstructive
d ispla ce-
ment of usua l
und ersta nd ings
of
tex tua lity,
a nd a n
a ccount of the themes of
writing, itera bility
a nd
spa cing
in d econstruction. It conclud es with a
reconsid era tion of the norma tive va lue a ccord ed to
'contex t'.
The
a ppea ra nce
of d econstruction in
geogra phy
ta kes a
va riety
of forms. For
some,
reference to
d econstruction serves a s a limit ca se tha t secures
the continued
id entity
of critica l socia l
science,
esta blished
politica l positions
a nd
respecta ble
forms of mora l
jud gement.
Deconstruction is found
not to conform to
ex isting
rules of how
theory
should a d d ress
'politics', 'rea lity'
or
'history',
a nd
a s a result is
corrected ,
d ismissed or
simply
pilloried . So,
one ca n find d econstruction
pre-
sented a s
merely
a mod e of
d emystifica tion
tha t d isa llows
a ny
critica l or ethica l
jud gements
(Livingstone 1998);
a s a n
ex a mple
of a
postmod ern
d iscursive id ea lism tha t ha s nihilistic tend encies a t
best, a nd elitist-conserva tive ones a t worst
(Peet
Tra ns Inst Br
Geogr
NS 24 277-293 1999
ISSN 0020-2754 ?
Roya l Geogra phica l Society (with
The Institute of British
Geogra phers)
1999
278
1998);
or a s a n
inconsistent,
even nonsensica l
mod er-d a y sophism
tha t
proposes
tha t we a re
locked in the
prison
of
la ngua ge,
a nd tha t rea son is
impossible (Sa ck 1997). Alterna tively,
while d econ-
struction
might
be a d mitted to ha ve some
poten-
tia lly interesting insights,
it seems
necessa ry
to
gua rd a ga inst
a n ex cess of
nega tive energy
imputed
to
it,
for fea r of
und ercutting
the cond i-
tions of
a ction,
d ecision a nd
jud gement (Bond i
a nd
Domosh
1992;
McDowell
1991).
Deconstruction a lso inha bits other field s of
geo-
gra phica l
resea rch in a more
positive
fa shion. It is a
sha d owy presence
in d iscussions of
post-
colonia lism,
ra d ica l
d emocra cy
a nd critica l
geo-
politics,
for
ex a mple. Geogra phers
ha ve a d d ressed
the releva nce of Homi Bha bha 's notions of 'third -
spa ce',
the 'in-between' a nd
'hybrid ity' (Bha bha
1994;
Pile
1994;
Rose
1995a ;
Soja 1996),
a nd of
issues of
a nti-essentia lism,
positiona lity
a nd sub-
a lterity
tha t d ra w
upon
the work of
Ga ya tri
Spiva k (Spiva k
1990;
see a lso
Gregory
1994;
Ra d cliffe
1994;
Routled ge 1996):
both Bha bha a nd
Spiva k
work over
d istinctively
d econstructive
intellectua l terra in. There ha s been
convergence
with work tha t
d eploys
d econstructive
insights
to
question conceptua l
bound a ries in
politica l theory
a nd interna tiona l rela tions
theory,
in ord er to
rethink
conceptua liza tions
of
sovereignty
a nd
territoria lity (Agnew
a nd
Corbrid ge
1995, 78-100;
Connolly 1995),
a s well a s a
reconfigura tion
of
geopolitics
a s a d istinctive form of
writing (O
Tua tha il
1994; 1996).
Deconstruction ha s informed
innova tive retheoriza tions of economic va lue a nd
the na ture of
ca pita lism (Ca stree 1996;
Gibson-
Gra ha m
1996).
And the
geogra phica l
d imensions
of a nti-essentia list
und ersta nd ings
of ra d ica l
d emocra cy bea ring
tra ces of d econstruction ha ve
a lso been a
subject
of d iscussion
(Ma ssey
1995;
Mouffe
1995;
Na tter
1995).
In a ll of these
field s,
geogra phica l
resea rch is
being rethought
in d irec-
tions
tha t,
a t one
remove,
testify
to a d econstruc-
tive
sensibility.
Yet the
ex plicit
consid era tion of
d econstruction continues to be left in
a beya nce;
its
a pplica tion
rema ins limited to those 'in the
know'.
Deconstruction is a lso
ea gerly cha mpioned
in the na me of the d elirious
d isruption
of
a ll
epistemologica l
certa inties
(Ba rnes 1994;
Strohma yer
a nd Ha nna h
1992).
This
pa rticula r
und ersta nd ing d epend s upon sta ging
a d ra ma tic
d epa rture
from
method ologica l a pproa ches
tha t
were
previously
consumed
by
the ruses of
Clive Ba rnett
scientific
ra tiona lity
a nd
na ively
mimetic
concep-
tions of
la ngua ge (Dix on
a nd
Jones 1998).
These
sorts of
a rguments
tend to enclose d econstruction
within the
pla ne
of
mea ning, conforming
to the
broa d er hermeneutic
recupera tion
of
post-
structura lism in
geogra phy.
Post-structura lism
ha s come to be the na me a scribed to a lmost
a ny
genera l
sense of
reflex ivity
towa rd s
'la ngua ge',
'd iscourse' or
'representa tion'.
This,
in
turn,
sus-
ta ins a ca sua l reference to 'd econstruction' a s a
shortha nd for a
d emystifica tory
form of
id eology-
critique
which revea ls the essentia l constructed -
ness of
ca tegories, concepts
a nd id entities
(Ha rley
1992).
A rela ted
presenta tion
of d econstruction in
geogra phy
refers to it a s a n a uthorita tive reference
point
for a set of substa ntive theoretica l
proposi-
tions. Deconstruction is a llud ed to a s
ha ving
con-
clusively
d emonstra ted the
necessa ry insta bility
of
mea ning
a nd the
necessa ry fluid ity
of
id entities,
a s
well a s the
necessa ry
incoherence of corres-
pond ence
theories of truth. This
sta ging
bolsters
a rguments
in fa vour of
a nti-essentia lism,
ra d ica l
epistemologica l
a nti-found a tiona lism a nd
plura l.ist
socia l theories of d ifference.
When confronted with such a ccounts of d econ-
struction,
one
might legitima tely
a sk from whence
the
imputed
d emonstra tive force of d econstruction
is mea nt to d erive? The tra nsla tion of d econstruc-
tion into a set of
epistemologica l
a nd
ontologica l
propositions
ra ises the
question
of whether the
'conceptua l' significa nce
of d econstructive
pra ctice
ha s been
effectively
communica ted in these sorts of
gra nd
sta tements of d econstructive lore. In so fa r a s
d econstruction
implies a ny
truth cla ims wha tso-
ever,
a consid era tion of these must
a cknowled ge
the ex tent to which
they
a re
d epend ent upon
wha t one
might
ca ll a d istinctive
epistemology
of
ex empla rity:
'There is no work of
theory
without
ex a mples.
The
ex a mples
a re essentia l to the
theory.
The
theory
ca nnot be
fully
und erstood without the
ex a mples' (Miller 1995, 323).
Deconstructive con-
cepts
a re a ll d ra wn from
pa rticula r
tex ts,
a nd
they
function a s
ex a mples
of
genera l
rules of which
they
a re the
only
a va ila ble cha ra cteriza tions. Derrid a 's
work,
for
ex a mple,
consists of
pa infully
d eta iled ,
somewha t
id iosyncra tic rea d ings
of other tex ts.
Deconstruction is
rigorously pa ra sitic
on the cor-
pus
of other
tex ts,
id ioms a nd tra d itions. It d oes
not involve a n a bstra ct
a na lysis
of
conceptua l
oppositions,
but
only
ever works over
conceptua l
systems
in
pa rticula r
contex ts. This ha s conse-
quences
for the sorts of
genera liza tions
one ca n
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
ma ke a bout d econstruction. In a
sense,
d econstruc-
tive
pra ctice gua rd s a ga inst
a n immed ia te
a pplica -
tion a s a
genera l theory
of
mea ning,
reference or
truth.
The
ex empla ry, pa ra sitic
a nd
performa tive
cha ra cter of d econstructive
pra ctice suggests
tha t
d econstruction
might fruitfully
be
a pproa ched
not
in terms of the
bina ry oppositions
tha t ha ve been
so cha ra cteristic of
geogra phy's
encounters thus fa r
(representa tion
a nd
rea lity,
d ifference a nd
id entity,
essentia lism a nd
constructionism,
found a tiona lism
a nd
rela tivism),
but ra ther a s
ela bora ting
a d iffer-
ent ord er of
'qua si'-tra nscend enta l questioning (see
Bennington
a nd Derrid a
1992, 267-84;
Ga sche
1986; 1994).
The fa voured terms of d econstruction
(such
a s
writing,
tra ce, supplement)
a re ea ch
d erived from the
singula r
contex t of the
pa rticu-
la r tex t where
they
a re found .
They
a re a lso
reinscribed towa rd s a meta theoretica l level of
sig-
nifica nce to which
they
never
quite
a tta in. This
reinscription la ys
ba re the constitutive
rela tionship
between the cond itions tha t ma ke
possible
a
given
phenomena
in the
a ppa rent
fullness of its
id entity
or
mea ning,
a nd how these sa me cond itions a lso
ma rk the
impossibility
of such
phenomena
ever
being
rea lized in their id ea l
purity.
Deconstruction
therefore involves a n
ex posure
of cond itions of
possibility
a nd
impossibility.
This d oes not refer to
two
sepa ra te
sets of
opposed
cond itions.
Ra ther,
possibility
a nd
impossibility
a re d oubled
up
in the
sa me cond itions. This
d oubling
of
(im)possibility
ex clud es a n
empha sis solely
on the
pole
of either
ena bling
or
d isa bling
cond itions.
Or,
to
put
it
a nother
wa y,
it
suggests
a n
a na lysis
in terms
other tha n the
simple,
a ll or
nothing
choices
between success or fa ilure tha t so often cha ra cter-
ize d eba tes in
geogra phy.
The d istinctive
epi-
stemologica l significa nce
of d econstructive
pra ctice
d oes not lie
prima rily
in rela tion to issues of
certa inty
or
scepticism,
constructed ness or corre-
spond ence.
Deconstruction
implies
a
d ifferent,
non-oppositiona l pla cement
of
necessity
a nd
contingency,
rule a nd
cha nce,
fa ct a nd
fiction,
repetition
a nd
cha nge.
If, then, d econstruction is a
presence
in va rious
field s in huma n
geogra phy,
it continues to be the
subject
of
very
little
ex plicit ex position.
There
seems to be a n
una cknowled ged
investment in the
id ea tha t d econstruction is too
d ifficult,
or too
precious,
to be
opened up
a nd ma d e a ccessible. As
Spa rke (1994, 1066) observes,
there is a
tend ency
for some commenta tors on d econstruction to
a d opt
279
a n a ttitud e of
'va ngua rd ist
theoreticism', which
justifies
a
ha ughty
d isd a in for
a ny
a nd a ll
a ttempts
to ma ke d econstruction a va ila ble. But it is not in
the
spirit
of d econstruction to insist tha t it is a n
unremittingly
d ifficult id iom. This
only
encloses
d econstruction,
conta ins it
a ga in, imposes
a nd
celebra tes
ina ccessibility
a s a
ba d ge
of ra d ica l
potentia l
never to be rea lized . The
purpose
here, in
a
spirit
of wilful
na ivety,
is to
provid e
a commen-
ta ry
on some fea tures of d econstruction tha t
might
a pply
to certa in
method ologica l
a nd
conceptua l
issues in huma n
geogra phy.
The
specific
focus is
upon
the issue of
contex t,
a theme of
genera l
concern in
geogra phica l empirica l
a nd theoretica l
resea rch. It will be
a rgued
tha t
by helping
to d ra w
out the
spa tia l ima gina ry
of
conceptua liza tions
of
contex t, d econstruction works to resist the
tempta -
tion to turn
immed ia tely
towa rd s
historica l,
linguistic
or socia l contex t in a ll their
empiricist
obviousness.
The
a uthority
of contex t
The
importa nce
of contex t in huma n
geogra phy
is
both substa ntive a nd theoretica l
(Sunley 1996).
Substa ntively,
there is a
strong
sense tha t
geogra -
phy
is
a ctua lly
a ll a bout contex ts. 'Pla ce' is once
a ga in
a fa voured reference
point
for
resea rch,
a
theme tha t ca n be tra ced ba ck to d eba tes in the
1980s over
loca lities,
regions
a nd structure a nd
a gency (Ma ssey
1984;
Thrift
1983).
These d eba tes
la id the
ground work
for wha t is now a much
broa d er
a pprecia tion
of the
pla ce-specific
constitu-
tion of socia l
processes, registered
not lea st in the
turn to 'culture' in va rious
subd isciplines.
'Con-
tex t' is shortha nd for a
sensitivity
towa rd s the
wa ys
in which
genera l processes
a re
embed d ed ,
mod ified a nd
reprod uced
in
pa rticula r,
loca l
pla ces. Theoretica lly,
this concern is rela ted to a
critique
of universa list
epistemologies.
Id ea s,
rep-
resenta tions a nd theories a re und erstood to be
intrinsica lly
connected to the
pa rticula r
contex ts in
which
they
a re
prod uced .
Post-structura lism is
just
one reference
point
for this
und ersta nd ing
of the
contex tua l na ture of
knowled ge
a nd
conceptua liz-
a tion. Across a
ra nge
of
subd isciplines,
contex t is
conceptua lized
a s the
pa rticula r
a nd the contin-
gent,
contra sted to a nd reva lued over a nd a bove
genera l processes
a nd universa l
logics
of
necessity.
Thus, contex tua lism is
sta ged
in
opposition
to
essentia lism
(Ba rnes 1989),
the cultura l is
sta ged
in
280
opposition
to the economic
(Cra ng 1997)
a nd
pla ce
is
sta ged
in
opposition
to
spa ce (Curry 1996);
in a ll
ca ses,
the
pa rticula r
is
sta ged
in
opposition
to the
genera l,
the
contingent
to the
necessa ry.
In
short,
a n
oppositiona l conceptua liza tion
of the d ifference
between the
genera l
a nd the
pa rticula r
und er-
writes the theoretica l
a scend a ncy
of contex t in
contempora ry
huma n
geogra phy (see Strohma yer
1993, 326).
It is a t this
point
tha t a series of theoretica l
d ifficulties
present
themselves,
revolving
a round
the
tend ency
to
ma p
d istinctions such a s
necessa ry
a nd
contingent,
a bstra ct a nd
concrete,
spa ce
a nd
pla ce
onto ea ch other
(see
Cox a nd Ma ir
1989;
Sa yer
1989a ; 1989b).
The
question
tha t
emerges
from these d iscussions,
one tha t bea rs
upon
con-
tempora ry geogra phica l
contex tua lism in
genera l,
concerns the
ima ge
of
spa ce
tha t und erwrites the
clea r d ema rca tion of
necessa ry
rela tions from con-
tingent
cond itions,
genera l process
from loca l
rea liza tions,
while a lso
ena bling
the former to be
a ugmented by
the la tter. Discussions of contex t in
huma n
geogra phy
tend to conform to the
'stra nge
logic
of the
supplement'
ela bora ted
by
Derrid a ,
a ccord ing
to which wha t seems a t first to be a
second a ry, unnecessa ry
or
superfluous
a d d ition to
a n
a ppa rently
a uthentic a nd na tura l form
(such
a s
writing
to
speech,
tra nsla tion to
origina l)
turns out
to be
necessa ry
a nd essentia l to it: the a d d ition of
the
supplement
ma rks 'the
origina lity
of the la ck
tha t ma kes
necessa ry
the a d d ition of the
supple-
ment'
(Derrid a 1976, 214).
The a ffirma tion of the
necessity
of
contingency
in huma n
geogra phy,
evi-
d ent in the
prolifera tion
of contex t a s a
genera l
theme,
suggests
tha t
contingency
is fold ed ba ck
into the rea lm of
necessity
or
genera lity
in a
pa ttern
tha t threa tens to und ermine the
very possibility
of
clea rly
a nd
d ecisively d istinguishing
two d ifferent
sets of rela tions or cond itions in the first
pla ce.
And
this
suggests
tha t the loca liza tion of contex t on one
sid e of a d ivid e between
pla ce
a nd
spa ce
is
equa lly
problema tic.
Ra ther tha n
ima gining
some
tid y
resolution to these
problems
of d ua listic
thinking
(Sa yer 1991),
it
might
be
necessa ry
to consid er a
wholly
other
wa y
of
ima gining
the
spa ce
of
conceptua liza tion through
which to rethink
contex t.
The
importa nce
of contex t
is, then,
wid ely
ta ken
for
gra nted
in huma n
geogra phy.
But there is
very
little
ex plicit
consid era tion of
just
wha t constitutes
'contex t'.1 In
fa ct,
contex t often serves a s a sort
of
ex pla na tory
bla ck box . It should therefore be
Clive Ba rnett
possible
to ra ise some
questions rega rd ing
wha t is
ex clud ed
by
the
unquestioned impera tive 'a lwa ys
to contex tua lize'. Deconstruction
only ind irectly
a d d resses the
pred omina nt
thema tic concerns tha t
geogra phers
ha ve a bout contex t. In wha t
follows,
the issue of contex t will be a d d ressed
through
the
specific prism
offered
by conceptua liza tions
of con-
tex t in rela tion to issues of
tex tua lity
a nd
interpre-
ta tion,
which ha ve become
significa nt
themes in
recent huma n
geogra phy (see
Ba rnes a nd
Gregory
1997).
It is
hoped
tha t d econstruction's
pa rticula r
concern with
questions
of
tex tua lity (which
is not
to be
d enied )
will be shown to a rticula te with
broa d er
questions
of concern to
geogra phers,
insofa r a s this concern turns
upon
a
problema tiz-
a tion of the cha ra cteristic
spa tia liza tion
of
ca tegorica l conceptua liza tion.2
The
sta rting point
for this ex ercise in
ex position
is the observa tion tha t invoca tions of the
a uthority
of contex t in huma n
geogra phy
a re cha ra cterized
by
a reference to contex t a s the
ex pla na tory
or
interpreta tive principle
with which to rein in the
a ppa rent
threa t of
linguistic
ind etermina cy.
Huma n
geogra phy's
recent encounter with
theories of
d iscourse,
representa tion
a nd
tex tua lity
a nd a ssocia ted
interpreta tive method ologies
ha s
gone
ha nd in ha nd with a ca reful
foreground ing
of
contex t a s a
guid ing principle
of
interpreta tion.
There is a
ta ken-for-gra nted
consensus tha t
id ea s,
d iscourses a nd
representa tions
need to be
pla ced
in
historica l,
economic or socia l contex ts if
they
a re to
be
properly interpreted , ex pla ined
a nd criticized .
La nd sca pes-a s-tex ts
need to be
pla ced
in the con-
tex t of ma teria l
la nd sca pes (Mitchell 1996;
Peet
1996);
tex tua l
spa ces
need to be und erstood in
rela tion to rea l
spa ces (Gregory
1995;
Smith
1994);
spa tia l meta phors
need to be
ground ed
in ma teria l
spa tia lity (Smith
a nd Ka tz
1993); litera ry represen-
ta tions need to be seen in broa d er socia l contex ts
(Cresswell 1996); genera lized
commod ifica tion is
a scribed d ifferentia l
significa nce
in loca l contex ts
(Ja ckson 1999).
There a re two nota ble fea tures
a bout the
spa tia liza tion
of
concepts implied by
a ppea ls
to contex t a s the
principle
tha t fix es a nd
d etermines
mea ning. Firstly,
tex ts or uttera nces a re
cha ra cteristica lly put (ba ck)
in
contex t,
in a n a ct of
repla cing.
The
a ppea l
to contex t is a n a ct tha t
loca lizes,
returning
a rtefa cts to their
origina l
situa -
tions or their
proper
loca tions.
Second ly,
the
a ppea l
to contex t
(whether
und erstood a s
pla ces, period s
or
epochs,
or
linguistic
communities),
involves the
insta lla tion of bord ers tha t
provid e
a secure fra me
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
within which ca lcula tions of a n otherwise
unbound
tex tua lity
ca n be conta ined . Deconstruc-
tion
suspend s
both these
opera tions,
a nd in so
d oing opens
a
spa ce
in which to a d d ress
ex plicitly
the theoretica l formula tion of contex t.
One of the
subd isciplines
where there ha s been
ex tensive
conceptua l
reflection on issues of contex t
is in the
history
of
geogra phica l
id ea s. The evolu-
tion of mod em a ca d emic
geogra phy
ha s been
pla ced
within a
broa d er,
intertex tua l contex t of
institutiona l a nd scientific
d evelopments (see
Livingstone
1992;
Stod d a rt
1981).
There ha s a lso
been a consid era tion of contex ts tha t lie
beyond
the
na rrow confines of the
a ca d emy:
economic,
politi-
ca l a nd socia l contex ts
(see
Driver
1992;
God lewska
a nd Smith
1994).
In his most recent
work,
Da vid
Livingstone
ha s further refined
und ersta nd ings
of
contex t
by reflecting ex plicitly upon
the
spa ces
in which
geogra phica l knowled ge
is
prod uced
(Livingstone 1995).
In this field a s in
others,
d iscus-
sions of the rela tions between tex ts a nd contex ts
ha ve come to serve a s the mea ns
through
which to
d evelop genera l
theories of communica tion tha t
tend to
privilege
certa in
und ersta nd ings
of 'com-
munity', 'mea ning'
a nd
'pra ctice'.
Robert
Ma yhew
ha s
proposed
a n
und ersta nd ing
of contex t a s a
field of sha red communica tive a ction tha t
regula tes
the
prod uction
a nd circula tion of
geogra phica l
knowled ge
a nd its historica l
interpreta tion
(Ma yhew 1994).
In
sea rching
for a secure
epistemo-
logica l
found a tion for the
possibility
of historica l
recovery, Ma yhew
is forced to
posit
a n id ea lized
linguistic
consensus a s the ba sis of the
possibility
of
mea ning (Ma yhew 1998).
This
conceptua liza tion
of
linguistic
contex t sta rts from the
a cknowled gement
tha t
mea ning might
be d ifficult to
pin d own,
but
only
a s a
prelud e
to a n a ccount in which this
possi-
bility
is a scribed no
pla ce
in
ex pla ining
how mea n-
ingful
communica tion works. In this
a ccount,
a
'performa tive'
theory
of
la ngua ge
is und erstood a s
one tha t confirms the
legitima cy
of esta blished rules
a nd norms of
la ngua ge
use
(Ma yhew
1998, 23).3
The ex clusion of
ind etermina cy
a nd cha nce from
the essentia l
und ersta nd ing
of communica tion in
conventiona l theories of
la ngua ge
is the ind ex of
the moment a t which
contex t, und erstood a s the
linguistic
contex t in which uttera nces a re conta ined
by
the sa nctions tha t
reprod uce a ccepted public
senses,
is
conceptua lized a ccord ing
to a n
enclosed ,
bound ed
ima ge
of
spa ce.
The link between a n
id ea lized mod el of communica tion tha t a ccord s
unquestioned legitima cy
to the conventiona l
281
a uthority
of id ea lized
homogenous
communities,
a nd a
d istinctively
a rea l, enclosed
conception
of
contex t is ma d e
ex plicit
in Micha el
Curry's pro-
gra mme
for a
'geogra phy
of tex ts'
(1996). Curry's
project
is
d epend ent upon
a certa in
conception
of the
proper pla ce
of tex ts in the world .
Pla ce-ma king
is und erstood a s a
colla bora tive,
con-
sensua l
pra ctice,
the
subject
of which is a n un-
d ifferentia ted 'we'
(1996, 96-8).
It
is, furthermore,
a n unselfconscious
pra ctice:
it is a ma tter of
ha bit,
custom, routine,
not of
cognition
or
conceptua liz-
a tion, nor of
a pplying
rules. This
und ersta nd ing
provid es
the ba sis for
Curry's
a ccount of the
socia ble
geogra phies
of written
tex ts, which ena ble
the esta blishment of
community
a nd
solid a rity,
the construction a nd ma intena nce of
pla ces,
a nd
ex tension of
und ersta nd ing
a cross
spa ce
a nd time.
The
problem
with written
tex ts,
for
Curry,
is
tha t,
while
they
ha ve a series of
proper
loca tions
(rea l
a nd virtua l
pla ces
such a s
libra ries, semina r
rooms or communities of
rea d ers), they
a lso ha ve
the unfortuna te
tend ency
to
promote
a n
ima ge
of the tex t 'a s
something
mobile,
something
tha t could be
a nywhere' (Curry
1996, 204).
This
mobility
somehow
belongs properly
to
tex ts,
but is
a lso
prone
to a n ex cessive d rift tha t must be
controlled if
und ersta nd ing
is to be ma inta ined .
While
Curry
a d mits the
possibility
tha t tex ts
might
turn
up
in unusua l
pla ces (such
a s the
street,
for
ex a mple),
this is
only conceptua lized
a s a mis-
pla cement,
a nd is not a ccord ed
a ny conceptua l
significa nce.
He
posits
a n
a ll-or-nothing
mod el of
communica tion, in which the
reprod uction
or
tra nsla tion of tex ts is
a lwa ys governed by
a
bina ry,
hiera rchica l
opposition
between
id entity
a nd d if-
ference, success or fa ilure. The a d mission tha t tex ts
ca n d rift out of
pla ce
serves
only
a s a
prelimina ry
to a n a ssertion tha t
a ny tend ency
towa rd s ex ces-
sive
spa tia l mobility
need s to be conta ined . An
id ea lized mod el of
und ifferentia ted ,
consensua l
pla ce-ma king
und erwrites a n a ccount in which
tex ts a nd uttera nces a re consid ered
only
to ha ve
mea ning by
virtue of
being
ba cked
up by rightful
a uthority
- which is
equiva lent
to
being
in their
proper, rightful pla ces.
Both
Ma yhew
a nd
Curry provid e conceptua lly
d eta iled a ccounts of issues of tex ts a nd
contex ts,
which
a cknowled ge
the la tent
possibility
of
ind etermina te a nd
mispla ced tex tua lity, only
to
ex clud e this
possibility
from their
conceptua liz-
a tions of the essentia l fea tures of
la ngua ge,
mea n-
ing
a nd communica tion a s a n
ex ceptiona l event,
a
282
mere a ccid ent. This
repud ia tion
of the
possibility
of
mea ning going a stra y
bind s
together
the insid e of
contex t,
whether this is und erstood a s a
linguistic
community,
a socia l consensus or a bound ed
pla ce.
A certa in
ima ge
of
spa ce,
ma d e
up
of d efined
bord ers a nd
ed ges ena bling
clea r d istinctions to be
ma d e between essence a nd
a ccid ent,
is
pivota l
to
this sort of
conceptua liza tion
of
la ngua ge.
There is
a n unobserved
prescriptivism
involved in these
kind s of a ccounts of communica tion a nd
linguistic
contex t. An
a cknowled gement
of the conven-
tiona l
qua lities
of communica tion
pra ctices
slid es
imperceptibly
into a theoretica l wa rra nt for limit-
ing proper la ngua ge usa ge
to a na rrow
ra nge
of
a ctivities sa nctioned
by given
cultura l communi-
ties. Behind a n infla ted rhetoric of
'pra ctice',
a
seemingly
neutra l a nd functiona l a ccount of la n-
gua ge
in terms of
rules, consensus,
sha red cod es
a nd
proper usa ges
tra nsforms socia l norms into
fa cts a nd
puts
them
beyond question (see
Ca meron
1995).
Deconstruction is often
presented
a s
involving
a n uncond itiona l a ffirma tion of
pure linguistic
ind etermina cy.
This
position
ca n in turn be rhetori-
ca lly rejected
on the
ground s
tha t it
puta tively
lea ves no firm found a tion for socia l communica -
tion or
mea ning.
There is a lso a n a lmost a x ioma tic
a ssumption
tha t d econstruction is a
na rrow,
id ea l-
ist tex tua lism tha t wa rra nts a ca va lier
d isrega rd
for
issues of contex t. In both
ca ses,
'contex t'
(or 'pra c-
tice'),
tend s to be invoked a s the
principle
tha t
sta bilizes the
slipperiness
of
mea ning
tha t d econ-
struction is
supposed
to celebra te. Pa rticula r
repre-
senta tions of d econstruction
help
to secure the
norma liza tion of consensua l,
a greea ble
communi-
ca tion a s a n a
priori principle
of ord er. But d econ-
struction d oes not enter this field on one sid e of a
choice between whether to contex tua lize or
not,
nor whether to d ecid e tha t
mea ning
is
a bsolutely
secure a nd
tra nspa rent
or
a bsolutely
ind etermi-
na te. It is not the conventiona l,
socia l na ture of
communica tion
pra ctices
tha t is a t
sta ke,
but the
question
of how to
jud ge
the
opera tion
a nd force of
norms a nd conventions. The rest of this
pa per
will
show tha t d econstruction offers a n a ccount of
tex tua lity
a nd contex tua liza tion tha t d iffers from
conventiona l
und ersta nd ings by
virtue of its cha r-
a cteristic trea tment of
ex ceptions. Ex ceptions
a re
ta ken a s ind ices of a n a lterna tive
und ersta nd ing
of
the rules
governing
communica tion
pra ctices,
ra ther tha n the occa sion for
confirming
the obvi-
ousness a nd
legitima cy
of
ex isting
rules a nd their
Clive Ba rnett
opera tion.
And d econstruction's trea tment of
ex ceptions d isrupts
the sta ble
spa tia l
ord er of
ca tegorica l conceptua liza tion.
Displa cing tex tua lity
Prising open
the enclosure
of la ngua ge
A
sta rting point
for this d iscussion is to a sk
whether d econstruction d oes ind eed tea ch tha t we
a re confined to the
prison-house
of
la ngua ge.
Surely
this is the inevita ble
rea d ing
of Derrid a 's
(1976, 158)
infa mous little
phra se,
'there is
nothing
outsid e the tex t'? One ca n find in
geogra phy
a
positive interpreta tion
of this a s
necessa rily
mea n-
ing
tha t there is no
wa y
to
get
outsid e
la ngua ge
in
ord er to
justify
truth cla ims. There is
'only
a
shifting system
of
signifiers
which is
inesca pa ble'
(Ba rnes 1994, 1025).
In
fa ct,
huma n
geogra phy's
encounter with d econstruction
opened
with this
found ing
a ct of conta inment: 'Deconstruction
shows how
la ngua ge imposes
limits on our
thinking' (Dea r 1988, 266).
Such
rea d ings only
confirm a n esta blished convention of
representing
la ngua ge
in terms of
bound a ries,
confinement a nd
limits. Is it not
possible
to
ima gine
the
spa ce
of
la ngua ge d ifferently?
The d istinctive
ima ges
of enclosure tha t cha ra c-
terize. so
ma ny
d iscussions of
la ngua ge
a re
ques-
tioned
by
d econstruction
(see Bennington 1989).
Deconstruction interferes with
und ersta nd ings
of
bord ers a nd bound a ries
by rewriting spa tia l
ca tegories a ccord ing
to a rhetoric of
movement,
tra cking
the
wa ys
in which
conceptua l
closure is
only
ever constituted
by regula ting
the
pla y
of
opening
a nd
ex posure. Any
d iscussion of d econ-
struction therefore need s to
negotia te
the sta tic
spa tia l ima gina ry
of
ca tegorica l conceptua liza tion,
which is
closely
tied to a territoria l
voca bula ry
of
d elimita tions
(Bennington
1994, 259-73;
Reicha rt
1992).
Deconstruction not
only
reca sts the
spa tia l
ima gina ry
of
concepts
like tex t a nd
contex t,
but the
result of this insistent
questioning
of the
opera tions
of bord ers a nd bound a ries is a set of ra ther blurred
'concepts'
with no clea r
ed ges,
which
keep slipping
from view. Deconstructive
concepts
a re
a lwa ys
on
the move
(Doel 1994).
The d econstructive sense of
tex tua lity
refers to
the movement
by
which a ll
a ppa rently
enclosed ,
tota lized a nd self-id entica l
objects
a nd
concepts
a re
fra ctured
by
their
necessa ry
rela tions with other
elements:
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
If there is
no-thing
outsid e the
tex t,
this
implies,
with
the tra nsforma tion of the
concept
of tex t in
genera l,
tha t
the tex t is no
longer
the
snug a ir-tight
insid e of a n
interiority
or a n
id entity-to-itself
... but ra ther a
d iffer-
ent
pla cement of
the
effects of opening
a nd
closing. (Derrid a
1981a , 35-6,
empha sis a d d ed )
This ha s two
implica tions
tha t bea r
upon
the issue
of the
ima ge
of
spa ce
tha t und erwrites
conceptu-
a liza tions of contex t.
Firstly, by questioning
the
d ivision between the
pure interiority
of tex ts a nd
the a bsolute
ex teriority
of
contex ts,
it
suggests
the
ina d equa cy
of
a ny representa tion
of d econstruc-
tion a s
rema ining
within the 'insid e' of a tex t
(or
a
system
of
signifiers). By fra ying
the
ed ges
between
tex ts a nd
contex ts,
a nd
rend ering
the d istinction
fina lly
und ecid a ble,
d econstruction
promises
to
free a concern with tex ts from a cha ra cteristic
red uction to the
pla ne
of
mea ning,
a nd from sub-
ord ina tion to a ll the
rea ssuring
ethica l va lues of
community, id entity
a nd
integrity
tha t the uncriti-
ca l
d eployment
of hermeneutic
protocols implies
(De
Ma n
1989, 218-23).
Second ly,
a nd
perha ps pa ra d ox ica lly,
the
ques-
tioning
of the
setting
of bound a ries a nd bord ers
between tex ts a nd their contex ts rend ers
problem-
a tic
a ny
cla ims tha t the 'world -is-like-a -tex t'. The
meta phorica l genera liza tion
of tex t ha s been a n
importa nt
fa ctor in the ex tension of
interpreta tive
method ologies
in huma n
geogra phy (see
Ba rnes
a nd Dunca n
1992;
Dunca n
1990).
Pa ul Ricoeur's
meta phorica l genera liza tion
of tex t a s a mod el for
socia l a ction ha s served a s a theoretica l reference
point
for this
opera tion (Ricoeur 1974; 1981). Tex ts,
on this
mod el,
continue to be und erstood a s
intelligible
unities,
subject
to hermeneutic
interpre-
ta tions tha t reconstitute the
mea ning-full-ness
of
tex ts,
of socia l a ction or of
la nd sca pes
a nd
pla ces.
Another
importa nt
source of
ex pa nd ed
notions of
tex tua lity
in huma n
geogra phy
is Rola nd Ba rthes
(Dunca n
a nd Dunca n
1988; 1992).
Ba rthes
(1977)
d issolves the hermeneutic sea rch for
origina l
mea ning
into a n end less
plura lity
of a cts of rea d -
ing. Singula r
a nd
origina l mea ning
is
d ispla ced
from its
position
of
a uthority, only
to be
repla ced
by
the uninhibited
sovereignty
of
multiple
inter-
preting subjects.
These two notions of
tex tua lity
conform ra ther
ex a ctly
to the 'two
interpreta -
tions of
interpreta tion',
which a re cha ra cteristic of
mod er
philosophies
tha t d etermine
la ngua ge
a s
coex tensive with
mea ning.
On the one
ha nd ,
the
sea rch for
origins
(in intention, d esire, contex t);
on
the
other,
origina l mea nings
a re d issolved into a n
283
intermina ble
polysemic pla y
of
signifiers (Derrid a
1978c, 292-3).
One should
certa inly
hesita te before
a ssimila ting
d econstruction to either
position.
Deconstruction
gives
rise to neither hermeneutic
d eciphering
nor the semiotic
d ecod ing
of
mea ning
(Derrid a 1982a , 29).
And nor is d econstruction
pa rticula rly
well
rea d a s a
progra mme
tha t
presents philosophy,
conceptua liza tion
or
la ngua ge
a s
prima rily
a nd
inesca pa bly meta phorica l:
'Derrid a is
wid ely
mis-
ta ken for a friend of
meta phor' (Pa tton 1996, 120).
The Derrid ea n
reinscription
of
tex tua lity effectively
d econstructs the
conceptua liza tion
of
meta phor
tha t und erwrites the 'world -is-like-a -tex t'
theme,
a ccord ing
to which a
proper
sense of tex t is
simply
tra nsported
to its outsid e
(Derrid a 1978b; 1982a ,
207-71).
Derrid a reca sts the
spa tia lity und erlying
und ersta nd ings
of
la ngua ge: conceptions
of meta -
phor d epend upon
a sta ble
spa tia l
ord er a nd on the
ma intena nce of secure
bord ers,
which a llow the
tra nsporta tion
of a
given
sense to new d oma ins.
Deconstruction's
genera lized tex tua lity
is not
strictly meta phorica l
a t
a ll,
since it
d epend s upon
a n a buse of
mea ning
tha t refers to no
proper
norm
(Derrid a 1984, 123).
Derrid a 's
genera liza tion
of tex t
might
be better und erstood a s a
metonymic
effect,
a rticula ting contiguous
elements. Unlike the
logic
of
id entity
tha t cha ra cterizes
meta phor (see
De
Ma n
1996),
the
epistemologica l
effects of
metonymy d epend upon ma inta ining
the
pla y
of
irred ucible d ifference between senses.
A
stra tegy of
intervention
If the d econstructive
genera liza tion
of the
concept
of tex t 'a lmost without limit'
(Derrid a 1986a , 167)
is
not
merely
a
meta phorica l ca rrying
over of one
mea ning
to other
rea lms,
then wha t d oes it
involve? This
genera liza tion
is
pred ica ted upon
a
tra nsforma tion in the
very
sense of
tex t,
one tha t
d epend s
on
refiguring
the
spa tia l ima ge
of the
rela tions between
bord ers, fra mes,
insid es a nd out-
sid es. This is well illustra ted in the
following
cita tion,
which ind ica tes the d ouble
d ispla cement
a t
pla y
in the d econstructive sense of
tex tua lity:
If we a re to
a pproa ch
a
tex t,
it must ha ve a n
ed ge.
The
question
of the
tex t, a s it ha s been ela bora ted a nd
tra nsformed in the la st d ozen or so
yea rs,
ha s not
merely
'touched ' shore, le bord ... a ll those bound a ries
tha t form the
running
bord er of wha t used to be ca lled
a
tex t, of wha t we once
thought
this word could
id entify,
ie,
the
supposed
end a nd
beginning
of a
work,
the
unity
of a
corpus,
the
title,
the
ma rgins,
the
284
signa tures,
the referentia l rea lm outsid e the
fra me,
a nd
so forth. Wha t ha s
ha ppened ,
if it ha s
ha ppened ,
is a
sort of overrun
(d ebord ement)
tha t
spoils
a ll these
bound a ries a nd d ivisions a nd forces us to ex tend the
a ccred ited
concept,
the d omina nt notion of a
'tex t', of
wha t I still ca ll a 'tex t' for
stra tegic
rea sons,
in
pa rt
- a
'tex t' tha t is henceforth no
longer
a finished
corpus
of
writing,
some content enclosed in a book or its
ma rgins,
but a d ifferentia l network, a fa bric of tra ces
referring
end lessly
to
something
other tha n
itself,
to other d iffer-
entia l tra ces. Thus the tex t overruns a ll the limits
a ssigned
to it so fa r
(not submerging
or
d rowning
them
in a n und ifferentia ted
homogeneity,
but ra ther
ma king
them more
complex , d ivid ing
a nd
multiplying
strokes
a nd
lines)
- a ll the
limits,
everything
tha t wa s set
up
in
opposition
to
writing (speech,
life,
the
world ,
the
rea l,
history,
a nd wha t
not,
every
field of reference - to
bod y
or mind , conscious or
unconscious,
politics,
economics,
a nd so
forth). (Derrid a 1979, 84-5)
As noted
a bove,
there is a d ouble
d ispla cement
of
tex t a t work in this cita tion.
Firstly,
this
pa ssa ge
d emonstra tes tha t tex t no
longer
functions,
in a n
immed ia te
wa y,
a s the na me of a n
intelligible
tex tua l
object, counterposed
to a n ex tra tex tua l
outsid e.
Ra ther,
in
d econstruction,
'tex t' is re-
positioned
a s the
very
med ium a cross which the
d ivision is esta blished a nd tra versed . Tex t is
just
one
figure
for a n
und ersta nd ing
of med ia tion cut
loose from a n
origin
or a
teleologica l
end ,
in which
the mid d le is not
merely
a
pa ssa ge
between two
pre-ex isting
entities,
but is
given priority
a s a
constitutive
pla y
of cha nce a nd
necessity.4
Second ly,
the
d ispla cement
of
tex t,
a s a
figure
of
med ia tion,
d epend s
in turn
upon
the tra nsforma -
tion of the norma l
concept
of tex t. Derrid a 's writ-
ings
reinscribe the usua l sense of tex t in rela tion to
a
voca bula ry
of fa brics a nd
cloths,
woven tissues
a nd
threa d s,
wea ving, la cing, bind ing, rend ing,
knotting.
This und erwrites a n infra structura l
red efinition of tex t
(Derrid a 1982a , 160). Writing
is
a woven
tex ture,
a n
'interla cing
tha t wea ves
together
the
system
of d ifferences'
(Derrid a 1981a ,
165), bringing
elements into rela tion in a network
of
interruptions, interla cing
them while
respecting
their
a lterity.
Und erstood in this
wa y, tex tua lity
ha s
no
beginning
or
end ,
it is
inex trica ble,
or 'limitless'.
Derrid a 's tex t
is, then,
a n
'a na gra m' (1981a , 98),
consta ntly
a nd
prod uctively crossing
between set-
tled a nd innova tive senses. The mobiliza tion of this
cita tiona l d rift between senses und erwrites the
'stra tegic' purpose a nima ting
the
reinscription
of
terms such a s
tex t,
writing,
tra ce or
supplement:
d econstruction ma kes use of word s tha t 'slid e' in
Clive Ba rnett
ord er to ma ke the d iscourses from which
they
a re
ta ken slid e
(Derrid a 1978c, 262-70).
Deconstruction
d oes not
suppla nt
one set of
concepts
with a
completely
new set. It
supplements ex isting
con-
cepts.
Deconstruction 'libera tes' cha ra cteristics of a
concept
tha t a re
norma lly
held in
reserve,
a nd
ex tend s them
beyond
their
norma lly
restricted
scope.
In so
d oing,
it blurs the clea r bound a ries
tha t und erwrites their restriction. This is d escribed
a s a
pra ctice
of
'pa leonomy', reta ining
a n old na me
to esta blish a new
concept (Derrid a 1981b, 71).
The
retention of the old na me for the
new,
genera lized
concept
is the cond ition for
reta ining
the
power
of
intervention tha t d econstruction a ims to ma ke in
certa in institutiona l d oma ins. In
borrowing
the
resources from the d iscourse it
tra verses,
d econ-
struction 'find s its
very
foothold there'
(Derrid a
1976, 314).
The a im is to d emonstra te the
system-
a tic rela tions between
concepts
tha t a re often
subjected
to a
rigorous sepa ra tion, revea ling
the
possibilities
tha t a re a va ila ble to
ma nipula te
these
sepa ra tions
in a ll their
a mbiguous potentia l.
Deconstruction
opens
a line of
questioning
rega rd ing
the insta lla tion of
fra mes,
limits a nd
bound a ries with
respect
to
pra ctices
of
rea d ing
a nd
writing,
from the sca le of the
microgeogra phies
of
written tex ts
through
to the
ma crogeogra phies
of
cultura l forma tions a nd socia l institutions. It ma kes
visible the
wa ys
in which tex ts a re embed d ed in
regula tory technologies
of
rea d ing, writing
a nd
performa nce,
which
imply
a d istribution of
politica l
effects a ll of their own.
A focus on institutiona l
questions
is not there-
fore
missing
from d econstruction
(which
is not to
sa y
tha t d econstruction's a ttention to the institu-
tion ca nnot
usefully
be
supplemented ).
The d ouble
d ispla cement
of tex t is rela ted to d econstruction's
pa rticula r
mod e of
tra versing
the institutiona l a nd
d iscursive
spa ces
in which it ta kes
up
resid ence.
Deconstruction should not be too
ra pid ly
confla ted
with the ra d ica liza tion of the structura list
concep-
tion of the
sign (Derrid a 1981a , 261).
It d oes not
simply
offer a
theory
of
la ngua ge
a s a n infinite
semiosis of
mea ning.
This notion rema ins tied to a
bina ry meta physics
of the
intelligible
a nd
sensible,
a nd
necessity
a nd
contingency.
It,
in
turn,
informs
a
pa rticula r rea d ing
of the
rela tionship
between
la ngua ge
a nd
power.
Effects of socia l
power
a re
und erstood to ta ke the form of
wholly a rbitra ry
sta biliza tions of the
necessa ry ind etermina cy
of
mea ning;
this then
supports
the notion tha t
simply
performing
or
uncovering
the essentia l
insta bility
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
of
clea r,
sha rp conceptua l
d ivisions is a
politica l
a ct
with
una mbiguously oppositiona l
va lue.
The d econstructive
a na lysis
of the und ecid -
a bility
of
mea ning implies
tha t the a rticula tion of
socia l
power
a nd
la ngua ge
d oes not
necessa rily
ta ke the form of
sta bilizing
the insta bilities of
mea ning
or
na tura lizing
socia l constructs.
Quite
the
contra ry,
it
might
be the ca se tha t the a rticula -
tion of certa in rea l-world
power
rela tions works
through
the
recognition
a nd
ex plicit ma nipula tion
of irresolva ble insta bilities of
mea ning.5
One lesson
of d econstruction is tha t the
politica l
va lue of either
fix ing mea ning (of
closure or of
id entity)
or of
ma inta ining insta bility (of
a mbiva lence or of d iffer-
ence)
is not
open
to
prior, conceptua l
d etermina -
tion. Deconstruction
certa inly points
towa rd s the
contra d ictory
a nd
fina lly
irreconcila ble cond itions
of
events,
institutions a nd a cts of
id entity.
But
it a lso a ffirms tha t these a re
necessa rily given
found a tions in
performa tive
a cts tha t
pa ss through
a structure of
repetition (see
Butler
1997;
Weber
1989).
This rend ers their found a tions or
ground s
unsta ble but
not,
simply
for tha t
rea son,
wholly
d ispensa ble (Derrid a 1986b; 1989; 1990).
It follows
from this
und ersta nd ing
of the
necessa ry
institu-
tiona liza tion of found a tions tha t the critica l
energies
relea sed
by
d econstruction a re neither
wholly
tra nsforma tive of tha t
upon
which
they
a ct,
nor
wholly
conserva tive.
Ra ther,
d econstruction
ra ises the
question
of wha t bound a ries it is neces-
sa ry
to a ssume a nd
protect
for certa in
pra ctices
to
get und erwa y.
If, then,
d econstruction is to be und erstood a s
a n
a na lytics
of 'effects of
opening
a nd
closing',
how d oes it
promise
to a lter
und ersta nd ings
of
contex tua liza tion a s a norm of
interpreta tion?
To a d d ress this
question,
it is
necessa ry
to con-
sid er a little more
closely
the thema tics of
writing,
itera bility, spa cing
a nd
d iffera nce.
Writing, itera bility, spa cing
Communica tion a nd
community
The releva nce of the d econstructive
genera liza tion
of tex t to
und ersta nd ings
of the
spa tia l
ord er
und erwriting conceptua liza tions
of contex t is most
clea rly
ind ica ted
by
Derrid a 's
enga gement
with
Anglo-America n ord ina ry la ngua ge philosophy
a nd
speech-a ct theory,
a nd
pa rticula rly
the work of
J
L Austin
(Derrid a 1982a , 307-30; 1988;
Austin
1962).6
This tra d ition
presents
a
philosophy
of
285
la ngua ge
where
mea ning
is und erstood in rela tion
to the communica tive contex ts in which word s a re
used . In so fa r a s
mea ning
is secured
by
contex t, it
is
presumed
tha t contex t ca n be tota lized a nd
theoretica lly
reconstituted , a t lea st in
principle.
In
Austin's a ccount of
performa tive
uttera nces, the
'felicitous' outcome of a communica tive a ct
d epend s firstly upon
a contex t of sha red und er-
sta nd ing
between
interlocutors,
a nd
second ly upon
the
self-presence
of intentions to
spea kers
a nd
listeners in
spoken
word s. The
possibility
of a n
'infelicitous'
outcome,
of
mea ning going a stra y,
is
a d mitted but
conceptua lly sepa ra ted
from its a lter-
na tive.
Ex ceptions
a re
cha ra cteristica lly d eployed
to esta blish the
priority
of a
pa rticula r
mod el of
proper usa ge
secured
by
the force of consensus.
Austin's is a
highly
norma tive a ccount tha t turns
upon
the ma intena nce of a clea r d ivision between
legitima te
a nd
illegitima te
uses.
In
recognizing
the socia l a nd communica tive
a spects
of
la ngua ge
use a nd
mea ning, speech-a ct
theory
nonetheless d etermines the socia l field of
intersubjective
communica tion a s
homogenous,
ha rmonious a nd unified . It
presents
a n a ccount of
la ngua ge
use a s a n
essentia lly coopera tive
form of
a ctivity
in which
subjects
a re
regula ted by
sha red
a ims of
a greement
a nd consensus
(Pra tt 1986a ).
An
ima ge
of
spa tia lly
bound ed communities of a
pa rticula r
sca le is
posited by
this a ccount of
proper
usa ge.
Austin's
philosophy
of
la ngua ge
rema ins
conceptua lly d epend ent
on a
representa tion
of
a
community
of
self-conscious,
self-id entica l
spea kers communica ting
within the immed ia te
prox imity
a llowed
by
the
ra nge
of the voice: 'a
community immed ia tely present
to
itself,
without
d ifference,
a
community
of
speech
where a ll the
members a re within ea rshot'
(Derrid a 1976, 136).
Deconstruction enta ils a
rigorous questioning
of
the ethica l a nd
politica l presuppositions
of theories
of
la ngua ge
a nd
interpreta tion
tha t
presume
'linguistic utopia s'
in which communica tion is
secured
by
a
single pla ne
of
mea ning
sha red
by
a ll
members of a
community (see
a lso Pra tt
1986b;
1987).
Conventiona l theories of communica tion
a nd
mea ning
such a s
speech-a ct theory,
but a lso
includ ing contempora ry
theories of
d ia logism
a nd
id ea l
speech
situa tions,
privilege
a n id ea l of a
community
of
spea kers
a nd listeners
inha biting
the
sa me horizon of
consensus,
teleologica lly
d irected
towa rd s mutua l
und ersta nd ing. Id entity
of inter-
est,
of
purpose
or of culture is
presupposed
a s the
cond ition of successful communica tion.
286
Ra ther tha n
presume
sha red
la ngua ge
a nd the
pre-given
bound a ries of a
homogenous
com-
munity
a s a
prior
cond ition for
communica tion,
d econstruction
ex poses
d ifference, cha nce,
d isjunc-
ture a nd
uncerta inty
a s
necessa ry
cond itions of
communica tion
(see Cha ng 1996).
Difference is not
und erstood a s the
nega tion
of
id entity
nor a s
opposition.
Difference is rewritten
a ccord ing
to
a n a lterna tive
spa tia liza tion,
not of conta inment
a nd
enclosure,
but of
fold s,
openings, pa ssa ges.
Communica tion
negotia tes
a cross a n
a poretic
spa ce-between
tha t
ga thers up
a nd
sepa ra tes
spea kers
a nd
listeners,
writers a nd rea d ers in a
non-reciproca l
ethica l
rela tionship
of
responsibility
tha t ex ceed s ca lcula tion
(see Critchley
1992;
Derrid a
1992a ; 1992b;
Levina s
1969).
Communica -
tion is thus
rethought a long
the lines
suggested by
a certa in
und ersta nd ing
of tra nsla tion
(Derrid a
1985a ),
one tha t a ffirms a
necessa ry
element of
untra nsla ta bility
a s its
very
cond ition. This is not
rega rd ed
a s a ba rrier to
communica tion,
but a s the
ma rk of a n a rticula ted
pla y
of
opening
towa rd s
a lterity
tha t is not a ssimila ted in the event of
communica tion tha t it ma kes
possible.
It follows
tha t in
d econstruction,
commona lity
is
figured
not
in terms of
id entity
or
homogeneity,
but in
light
of
a n
a cknowled gement
of 'the
impossibility
of a n
a bsolutely pure
a nd
rigorously
uncrossa ble limit'
(Derrid a 1993, 75).
Deconstruction thus informs a
wid er effort to rethink the
possibilities
of commu-
nity,
ethics a nd
universa lity beyond
the horizon of
sha red
id entity
a nd
tra nspa rent
communica tion
(Na ncy
1991;
Young
1990; 1997).7
Articula ting d iffera nce
The a ffirma tion of d ifference in
d econstruction,
freed from
conceptua l
subord ina tion to
id entity
where d ifference is und erstood a s
d eriva tion,
nega tion
or
opposition (Doel 1992)
lea d s onto
the rela ted themes of
'spa cing', 'writing'
a nd
'itera bility'.
These terms a re centra l to the
d isrup-
tion of the norma tive va lue a ccord ed to contex t in
theories of
interpreta tion. Writing
serves a s the
figure
of a n a lterna tive
und ersta nd ing
of
spa ce,
in
terms of
spa cing
a nd
opening.
Derrid a
consistently
uncovers a
norma lizing impulse
a t work in cla ssi-
ca l a nd mod ern theories of
mea ning.
This is
regis-
tered in the red uction of the
contingencies
of
spa ce
a nd time to a n ord er of
essence,
id entity, necessity,
presence. Conceptions
of the 'norma l'
opera tion
of
speech, mea ning,
communica tion or
significa tion
Clive Ba rnett
a re
routinely
secured
by
the thema tiza tion of
empirica l ex ceptions
tha t need to be ex clud ed from
conceptua l
consid era tion.
Yet,
just
a s
routinely,
the
subord ina ted term
rea ppea rs meta phorica lly
to
d escribe the norma l
opera tion:
it is in two
pla ces
a t
once,
both insid e a nd outsid e a n enclosed
conceptua l spa ce
of essence or
necessity.
For
Derrid a ,
it is
writing
tha t is most often
simulta neously
thema tized a nd elid ed in this
wa y,
a s a
necessa ry supplement
a nd a s a
figure
of
a bsence, d eferra l,
d ifference a nd
spa tia l
ex tension
tha t must be neutra lized or
recupera ted
in the
na me of
id entity, mea ning, und ersta nd ing
a nd
unity. Writing
is
usua lly
und erstood a s the
med ium in which
mea ning
is
tra nsported ,
but a lso
a s a med ium tha t is
risky, d a ngerous
a nd lia ble to
usurpa tion.
It is this
a mbiguity
tha t is
ex ploited
in
the d econstruction of contex t. Written tex ts must be
a ble to
opera te
in the
complete
a bsence of their
a uthor's intentions or wid er cond itions of
origina l
prod uction (Derrid a 1978a , 123-43); writing
must
be a ble to be rea d out of
contex t,
it is 'born
by
suspend ing
its rela tion to
origin' (Derrid a 1976,
243).
Derrid a
d eploys
the notion of
writing
to
ind ica te tha t the
power
of
d ispersa l usua lly
reserved for
writing
is inherent to a ll
la ngua ge
use:
'Tha t
la ngua ge
must tra verse
spa ce,
be
obliged
to
be
spa ced ,
is not a n a ccid enta l tra it but the ma rk
of its
origin' (Derrid a 1976, 232).
The ex tension
of
la ngua ge
in
spa ce
is not a
second a ry,
d eriva -
tive or a ccid enta l fea ture tha t is a d d ed to the
proper id ea lity
of
mea ning.
The cha ra cteristic of
'itera bility',
the
ca pa city
for d ifferentia l
repetition
out of
contex t,
is therefore the cond ition of
writing
a s
writing: writing
must be
repea ta ble
a nd rema in
legible
even in the event of the
d isa ppea ra nce
of its
a uthor or
a ny specifia ble
a d d ressee
(Derrid a 1982a ,
315).
Three issues
immed ia tely
follow from Derrid a 's
re-eva lua tion of
writing
a s a
figure
for a non-
red ucible movement of
spa cing
a s the cond ition of
communica tion.
First,
the theme of
origina ry
writ-
ing
red ra ws the notion of
origin.
The
genera liz-
a tion of
writing,
a s cond ensed in va rious
figures
of
movement,
spa cing
a nd
tempora liza tion,
is
ind ica tive of a n effort to think of cond itions of
possibility
without reference to a n
origin
of
punctua l presence
or
pure
form.
Second ly, writing
na mes the
spa cing
or d rift a t the
origin
of a ll
id entity
a nd
presence,
a nd this
suggests
a
reworked sense of
representa tion.
In
a ffirming
the
irred ucibility
of
representa tion,
this term is now
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
und erstood in rela tion to tex tua l
figures
of
pres-
ence a nd
a bsence,
thereby d ispla cing
a
purely
visua l notion of
representa tion (see
Ca stree
1996;
Derrid a
1982b;
Spiva k 1988). Repetition
of the
'sa me' element in a new contex t involves a move-
ment of
re-presenta tion
tha t
pa sses through
a
structure of
itera bility.
And
third ly,
the theme of
writing
ind ica tes a re-eva lua tion of cha nce. The
unrelia ble a nd
error-prone
cha ra cteristics
usua lly
a scribed to
writing
a s a mere
supplement
a re
genera lized
a s constitutive cond itions of a ll com-
munica tion. This should not be confused with a
simple
eva lua tion of cha nce in
opposition
to neces-
sity
or rules. It
is, ra ther,
connected to a sense of the
necessity
of the
pla y
of cha nce or
ind etermina cy
in
a ny
successful communica tive
pra ctice (La wlor
1992, 111-22).
Combining
these three themes of a
non-origina l
origin, re-presenta tion
a s d ifferentia l
repetition,
a nd
cha nce,
a llows one to
a pproa ch
the
importa nce
of the theme of
d iffera nce
in d econstruction.
Differ-
a nce is a n
und ersta nd ing
of d ifference tha t is not
subsumed within a n ord er of the
sa me;
it testifies
to the
continuing importa nce
a scribed to certa in
'tra nscend enta l'
questions. Diffgra nce implies
a
d ouble reference: to
spa tia lity,
in the sense of
d ifference a s
a pa rtness
a nd
sepa ra tion,
a nd
d isper-
sa l;
a nd to
tempora lity,
in the sense of
d eferring,
d ela y
a nd
postponement (Derrid a 1973, 82).
It is
a bove a ll
importa nt
to und erscore the
processua l
sense of the movement of
d iffera nce. Differa nce
is
a nother
figure
for a movement of med ia tion tha t
opens presence, id entity
a nd time a nd their con-
ceptua l
d eriva tives of
a bsence,
d ifference a nd
spa ce (Derrid a 1982a , 1-27).
It is one na me for the
'pra ctice of
spa cing'
tha t
opens
the
spa ce
for
rep-
etition a nd
representa tion,
but this is und erstood
a s a n
a lea tory spa ce
tha t ensures tha t
pure repeti-
tion or
re-presenta tion
of the sa me is
fina lly impos-
sible.8
Differa nce
is therefore a
'concept'
tha t works
to free
und ersta nd ings
of
tempora liza tion
a nd
spa cing
from subord ina tion to
a ny teleologica l
horizon: 'To
sa y
tha t
d iffra nce
is
origina ry
is simul-
ta neously
to era se the
myth
of a
present origin'
(1978c, 203).9
Dissemina tion without return
In
d econstruction,
the
possibility
of
repetition
in
the a bsence of
origina l contex t,
which is
usua lly
reserved for the conventiona l
concept
of
writing
a s
a n a d d ition tha t tra nsmits the content of a
speech
287
a ct,
is
genera lized
a s a cond ition for a ll
la ngua ge
use. The
possibility
of written ma rks
being
ta ken
out of
contex t, their
'itera bility',
is the
ex pression
of a n
origina ry
d isloca tion tha t inheres in a ll com-
munica tive a cts. All communica tion inha bits a
structure of
itera bility:
a ll
signs
ca n be cited , ca n
brea k with contex t a nd ca n be
enga ged
in
new contex ts.
Any origina l
event is therefore
irred eema bly
lost a s soon a s it is
enuncia ted ,
unrecovera ble in its
a ppa rent singula r
a nd
origi-
na l
plenitud e,
inscribed a s it is in a
pa ttern
of
d ispla cement
a nd
repetition. La ngua ge
is
a lwa ys a lrea d y
d elivered over to a n unforeseea ble
d estina tion.
A cond ition of the
intelligibility
of a tex t in
a ny
contex t is tha t it is
a lrea d y
on the move. The
pra ctice
of d econstruction revea ls this
movement;
so d oes tra nsla tion. Tha t tex ts a re
subject
to tra ns-
la tion is a n
empirica l
fa ct tha t ha s theoretica l
consequences
for the
spa tia l
a nd
tempora l
ord er
und erwriting conceptua liza tions
of contex t a s a
norm of
interpreta tion.
Tra nsla tion is here und er-
stood not in terms of a n a bstra ct d ivision between
origina l
a nd
copy,
but a s a
process
tha t
pa sses
through
a whole continuum of tra nsforma tions
(see Benja min
1978, 325).
As
such,
tra nsla tion is
a nother
figure
of
fra gmenta tion,
movement a nd
insta bility
a t the
'origin':
This movement of the
origina l
is a
wa nd ering,
a n
erra nce,
a kind of
perma nent
ex ile if
you
wish,
but it is
not
rea lly
a n
ex ile,
for there is no
homela nd ,
nothing
from which one ha s been ex iled .
(De
Ma n
1986, 92)
Itera bility,
the movement of
tex tua lity
tha t
a ccounts for the
potentia l
of elements to be
gra fted
into new
contex ts,
is therefore cha ra cterized
by
a
'd issemina tion without
return',
a
pa ttern
of
d isper-
sa l without a n
ex pected , a nticipa ted tra jectory
(Derrid a 1992a , 48).
This is not to be confused with
a hermeneutic
conception
of
polysemy,
wherein
multiplicity
a nd
va riety
is conta ined within a
pla ne
of
mea ning,
so tha t
plura lity
is
pred etermined
a s
essentia lly
sema ntic. Dissemina tion d oes not
project
a horizon of
(ind etermina te) multiple
mea nings.
It is not a ma tter of lex ica l or sema ntic
richness a t
a ll; d issemina tion is a
'concept'
d erived
from the observa tion of
synta ctic
va ria nce
(Derrid a
1981a , 220-21).
Deconstruction d irects a ttention to
the 'horizonta l'
pla cement
of elements in rela tion
to ea ch other. It therefore
implies
a n
a na lytics
of
a rticula tion,
not of
correspond ence, interpreta tion
or
necessity.
288
Displa cing
contex t
Deconstruction's cha ra cteristic
reord ering
of the
va lue a scribed to
cita tions, d evia tions,
the
ma rgina l
a nd the
second a ry implies
a d ifferent
a pproa ch
to
questions
of contex t. Ra ther tha n
subord ina ting
ex ceptions
to tra nscend ent
norms, d econstruction
ta kes them a s the
sta rting point
for
d eveloping
a
d ifferent
und ersta nd ing
of the
wa ys
in which rules
opera te, d isrupting
the
ground
of self-evid ent
truths
a ga inst
which the
ex ception a ppea rs
a s such
(compa re
Pecheux
1982, 199). Aga in,
the
specific
properties norma lly
a scribed to
writing
a re
invoked here. It is useful to cite
Derrid a ,
to ma ke
clea r wha t this resista nce to the
norma lizing
restriction of
cha nce,
error a nd
ind etermina cy
a s non-essentia l a ccid ents or
ex ceptions
reserved
for
writing implies
for
conceptua liza tions
of
contex t:
This is the
possibility
on which I wa nt to insist: the
possibility
of ex tra ction a nd cita tiona l
gra fting
which
belongs
to the structure of
every ma rk,
spoken
or
written,
a nd which constitutes
every
ma rk a s written
even before a nd outsid e
every
horizon of
semiolinguis-
tic
communica tion;
a s
writing,
tha t
is,
a s a
possibility
of
functioning
cut
off,
a t a certa in
point,
from its
'origina l'
mea ning
a nd from its
belonging
to a sa tura ble a nd
constra ining
contex t.
Every sign, linguistic
or non-
linguistic, spoken
or written (in the usua l sense of this
opposition),
a s a sma ll or
la rge unity,
ca n be
cited ,
put
between
quota tion
ma rks;
thereby
it ca n brea k with
every given contex t,
a nd
engend er
new contex ts in a n
a bsolutely
nonsa tura ble fa shion. This d oes not
suppose
tha t the ma rk is va lid outsid e its
contex t,
but on the
contra ry
tha t there a re
only
contex ts without
a ny
centre
of a bsolute
a nchoring.
This
cita tiona lity, d uplica tion,
or
d uplicity,
this
itera bility
of the ma rk is not a n a ccid ent
or a n
a noma ly,
but is tha t
(norma l/a bnorma l)
without
which a ma rk could no
longer
even ha ve a so-ca lled
'norma l'
functioning. (Derrid a 1982a , 320-21)
The
importa nt point
is
tha t,
beca use of the itera ble
cha ra cter of a ll
significa tion,
contex t is
a lwa ys
open:
'the limit of the fra me or the bord er of the
contex t
a lwa ys
enta ils a cla use of nonclosure'
(Derrid a 1988, 152-3).
It should be noted tha t this
und ersta nd ing
d oes not lea d on to a
d isrega rd
for
issues of
contex t,
nor of intention. But it d oes
imply
tha t if there is no
mea ning
without
contex t,
then
nor ca n
a ny
contex t ever
fina lly
be closed or
present
to itself. Contex ts must
a lwa ys
be
open
to
serve a s
contex ts,
but therefore
they
ca nnot
fina lly
conta in the force of
itera bility:
'This is
my sta rting
point:
no
mea ning
ca n be d etermined out of
Clive Ba rnett
contex t,
but no contex t
permits
sa tura tion'
(Derrid a 1979, 81).
The
mea ning
of tex ts a nd uttera nces is
d epend -
ent on
a lrea d y being
on the
move,
spa ced
out
towa rd s
multiple, una nticipa ted
recontex tua liz-
a tions. It is the va lue a scribed to certa in
unprob-
lema tized notions of contex t a s a n a uthorita tive
method ologica l protocol, d epend ent upon
a whole
set of unsta ted
philosophica l
a nd ethica l
a ssump-
tions,
tha t is
put
in
question by
d econstruction.
Tra d itiona l
questions
of contex t a re not a ba nd oned .
They
a re reloca ted into a
pra ctice
in which
they
no
longer
serve a s the
governing
norms. The d econ-
structive a ffirma tion of
spa cing,
in the
figures
of
writing, itera bility
a nd
d iffera nce, suggests
tha t
a ny
a na lysis
of tex ts is thrown forwa rd :
One of the d efinitions of wha t is ca lled d econstruction
would be the effort to ta ke this limitless contex t into
a ccount,
to
pa y
the
sha rpest
a nd broa d est a ttention
possible
to contex t, a nd thus to a n incessa nt movement
of
recontex tua liza tion.
(Derrid a 1988, 136,
empha sis
a d d ed )
Deconstruction a ffirms a
heightened
a wa reness of
contex tua liza tion,
und erstood a s the limitless
potentia l
for tex ts to be rea rticula ted in a n infinite
number of times a nd
pla ces.
After
d econstruction,
contex t
might
be best
thought
of a s a
d istinctively spa tia l figure
not
of conta inment
but, insofa r a s it refers to wha t
preced es,
follows a nd surround s
tex ts,
of the
rela tions of
contiguity
a nd
prox imity
between
elements. While d econstruction
certa inly
a cknowled ges
tha t tex ts ca nnot not
a ppea r
in
pla ces,
it a lso
provokes
a
rethinking
of
pla ce
in
terms of
d ifference,
mobility,
d isloca tion a nd
openings,
ra ther tha n in rela tion to the a rea l
logic
of consensus a nd enclosure. The tra ce of
d iffera nce
is inherent to a ll self-conta ined a nd
self-present
entities,
such a s
community, pla ce,
contex t or the
subject (Derrid a 1976, 44-73).10
The
pla y
of
repeti-
tion a t the
origin
of the
ex perience
of
id entity
a nd
d ifference,
presence
a nd
a bsence,
time a nd
spa ce
suggests
a n
a pproa ch
to
pla ce
und erstood a s a
performa tive
'scene of
writing' (Derrid a 1978c,
196-231;
see a lso
Ca sey
1997;
Wigley 1993).
The
pa ssa ge through
a d ifferentia l movement of
spa c-
ing
ind ica tes tha t
mea ning
ta kes
pla ce
in a n
oscilla tion between a rticula tions a nd d isa rticula -
tions,
a tta chments a nd
d eta chments,
which a re
a lrea d y und erwa y.
Postca rd s
a re,
perha ps,
a
pri-
ma ry figure
for the d econstructive
und ersta nd ing
Deconstructing
contex t:
ex posing
Derrid a
of the rela tions between tex ts,
contex ts a nd
spa cing implied by
this incessa nt movement of
recontex tua liza tion
(Derrid a 1987):
a d d ressed to a
specific
interlocutor,
a
postca rd
is nonetheless
potentia lly open
to be rea d
by a nyone.
Successful
communica tion is not therefore
d epend ent
on the
precise
conta inment of
messa ges
within enclosed
cha nnels of
ex cha nge.
Postca rd s
ex emplify
the
d issemina ting
force of
tex tua lity
tha t ex ceed s a ll
a ttempts
a t
fina lly enclosing mea ning
in
proper
pla ces,
since
they
ca nnot be secured from
being
rea d
by unex pected
rea d ers in
una nticipa ted
pla ces.
Yet
postca rd s
a re a lso a
figure
for the
a ffirma tion tha t
mea ning
is
irred ucibly
tied to
loca l sites. Tha t
is,
mea ning
is
d epend ent
on,
but
not
fina lly
red ucible
to,
loca l
pra ctices.
If
mea ning
is rela ted to
contex t,
then this d oes not
require
tha t
mea ning
be ma d e
conceptua lly d epend ent
on
uttera nces
a lwa ys being
a rticula ted in
proper
con-
tex ts
by
the
proper person
ba cked
by
the
proper
a uthority.
The d ifferent orienta tion to rela tions between
contex t,
pla ce
a nd norms of
propriety suggested
by
d econstruction is revea led
by
the observa tion
tha t the
repertoire
of terms tha t cha ra cterize
d econstruction's
reinscription
of
philosophica l
con-
ceptua liza tion (such
a s the
supplement,
the
tra ce,
writing)
a re a ll
figures
of the
pa ra site.
Pa ra sites a re
certa inly
d efined
by
their rela tion to
pla ces;
but not
their own
pla ces. They
ha ve no
proper pla ce:
no
pla ce
tha t is
properly
their
own,
nor a
pla ce
tha t is
theirs to
own,
a nd
they
a lso a ll tend to elud e
a ttempts
to conta in them on one sid e of clea r
conceptua l
bound a ries. The
pa ra site
is a
figure
of
med ia tion,
loca lized between insid es a nd
outsid es,
d efined
by
its
a ppa rently pa ra d ox ica l spa tia l
loca -
tion:
prox ima te
a nd
d ista nt,
simila r a nd
d ifferent,
insid e a d omestic
economy
but not of
it,
this sid e
a nd the other sid e of a threshold
(Miller 1991, 145).
The
figure
of the
pa ra site
therefore
d isrupts
mod els
of communica tion
premised
on id ea ls of
ex cha nge,
id entity
a nd
community (see
Serres
1982).
In its
insistent a ffirma tion of
figures
of the
pa ra site,
d econstruction a ccord s consid era ble a ttention to
questions
of
spa ce,
time a nd
pla ce.
In so
d oing,
it
und oes the sta ble
spa tia l
ord er tha t secures a
thinking
of d ifference
a ccord ing
to a
specific
nor-
ma tive
economy
of
id entity
a nd
opposition.
The
prolifera tion
of
figures
of the
pa ra site
in d econ-
struction ind ica tes a n a lterna tive
spa tia l
ord er not
of
oppositions,
but of
a rticula tion,
fold ing, opening
a nd
spa cing.
289
Depa rture points
In
closing,
it should be
a cknowled ged
tha t d econ-
struction d oes not
necessa rily
lea d onto a
unique
theoretica l or
empirica l progra mme
tha t ca n sche-
ma tica lly
be summa rized . It is not the intention
here to
point
towa rd s a new
empirica l a gend a
a s
such.
Ra ther,
this
pa per
ha s
pursued
three broa d
themes.
Firstly,
it ha s tried to ind ica te the need to
rethink the cha ra cteristic
spa tia liza tion
of
concepts
tha t und erwrites the construction of contex t a s a
possible empirica l object
of
a na lysis
or norm of
interpreta tion
a nd
ex pla na tion.
It ha s d one so
by
ca lling
into
question und ersta nd ings
of bord ers
a nd
limits,
ima ges
of enclosure a nd
representa tions
of sta ble
spa tia l pa tterns
tha t a re
routinely
ta ken
for
gra nted
in d iscussions of contex t. The
pa per
ha s
therefore
suggested
tha t the
tend ency
to ta ke 'con-
tex t' for
gra nted ,
both a s a n
empirica l object
a nd a s
a theoretica l
theme,
is rela ted to a
pa rticula r ima ge
of
spa ce
tha t und erwrites the
possibility
of
ma king
clea r
ca tegorica l
d istinctions between insid es a nd
outsid es.
Second ly,
it ha s been
suggested
tha t d econstruc-
tion moves
through
other
progra mmes,
method s
a nd theories in d istinctive
wa ys.
This
pa per
ha s
tried to
give
some sense of the d irection of this
empha sis,
ra ther tha n to set out a number of rules
tha t could be
a pplied .
In
pa rticula r,
it ha s been
suggested
tha t wha t is d istinctive a bout d econ-
struction is the
wa y
in which it d irects a ttention
towa rd s a
thinking
of contex t without
nosta lgia
for
a lost
presence,
however formula ted . It
helps
to ca ll
into
question
the
a uthority
of usua l
a ppea ls
to
contex t,
whether this is fra med a s the intention of a
consciousness,
the communica tive horizon of inter-
subjectivity
or a s a d etermina nt historica l or socia l
ground .
Deconstruction's concern for contex t is
not, therefore,
governed by
a n ethics of
proper
usa ge, rightful a uthority
or
necessa ry
rela tions,
which is
closely
tied to a
pa rticula r spa tia l regime
of
conceptua liza tion.
Third ly,
d econstruction d oes not red uce
every-
thing
to the sta tus of a tex t. On the
contra ry,
it
multiplies
a nd reca sts
contex t,
a nd libera tes a n
empirica l
a nd theoretica l concern for contex tua liz-
a tion from the
norma lizing
rules tha t
usua lly gov-
ern
ex pla na tion
a nd
interpreta tion.
Deconstruction
is a crea tive
pra ctice
of the a rticula tion of new
rela tions tha t a re not esta blished in a d va nced .1
The movement of und ecid a ble a d d ress a t the
'origin' suggests
a n
a na lysis
of
openings
a nd
290
closings,
movements a nd
d ispersa ls,
a rriva ls a nd
d epa rtures,
d eliveries a nd returns. This
a na lysis
might
be
pursued
in two d irections.
Firstly,
through
a n
investiga tion
of how releva nt contex ts
for tex ts a re sta bilized
d iscursively, institutiona lly
a nd
socia lly (see
Bennett
1987;
Genette
1997).
This
would be a n
a na lysis
of the insta lla tion a nd d is-
semina tion of the
rules,
protocols
a nd norms of
cond uct tha t secure consensus a nd
a greement
in
communities of
interpreta tion.12 Second ly, through
a n
a na lysis
of the
prod uction
of
novelty through
pra ctices
of
resignifica tion (see
Butler
1997). Any
such
pra ctice necessa rily negotia tes
a field of
a uthority
rela tions,
ca lling
in turn for a n
a na lysis
of
the cond itions tha t ena ble rela tions of
a uthority
in
la ngua ge
use to be
prod uctively
red irected .13 Wha t
both of these
possible
d irections of
a na lysis
sha re is
a n
a pprecia tion
of the constitutive movement of
med ia tion a nd recontex tua liza tion
through
which
a ny
communica tive
pra ctice pa sses.
This
suggests
tha t a
geogra phy
of tex ts must be
premised upon
movement,
spa cing
a nd
d ifference,
ra ther tha n
upon pla ce, id entity
a nd conta inment. And a bove
a ll,
this
implies
a n
a na lysis
freed from
a ssumptions
of
propriety
tha t often continue to
govern interpre-
ta tion.
Amongst
other
things,
this form of
a na lysis
a ffirms cha nce a nd
crea tivity,
a nd in so
d oing
ma kes visible
questions
of
responsibility:
Our
interpreta tions
will not be
rea d ings
of a herme-
neutic or
ex egetic
sort,
but ra ther
politica l
interventions
in the
politica l rewriting
of the tex t a nd its d estina tion.
(Derrid a 1985b, 32)
Acknowled gements
I tha nk
Murra y
Low, Julie
McLa ren a nd three
a nonymous
referees for their critica l comments on
ea rlier d ra fts of this
pa per.
Notes
1 The d iscussions in Thrift
(1994; 1996) provid e impor-
ta nt
ex ceptions
to this
genera l
a bsence of
conceptua l
consid era tions of contex t.
2 The concern for the
spa tia liza tion
of
concepts
d irects
a ttention to the d istinctive
ima ges
of
spa ce
tha t
a rra nge
ord ers of
knowled ge
a nd
und ersta nd ing.
See
Fouca ult
(1973) a nd ,
in
geogra phy,
Rose
(1995b).
3 It is
open
to
question
whether the
performa tive
force
of uttera nces or tex ts follows from
correctly following
a ccepted
la id -d own norms of
linguistic
communities,
or whether it is better
thought
of a s
d eriving
from the
Clive Ba rnett
ca pa city
of uttera nces to brea k with
contex ts,
to
a ssume new ones in a movement of
a ppropria tion
tha t reworks the
economy
of esta blished norms
(see
Butler
1997, 127-63).
4 Other Derrid ea n
figures
for this sense of constitutive
med ia tion includ e
tra ce, d issemina tion,
supplement,
itera bility, writing,
mimesis,
hymen, pha rma kon, sup-
plement
a nd
d iffera nce.
5 This
point
is d emonstra ted
forcefully by Sed gwick's
(1990) a na lysis
of the
opera tions
of mod ern heter-
onorma tive
pra ctices
a nd
systems
of
power (see
a lso
Fuss
1995).
6 It is worth
noting
tha t the
rela tionship
between
speech-a ct theory
a nd d econstruction is not a n
oppo-
sitiona l
one,
in
spite
of the na ture of the
ex cha nge
between Derrid a a nd John Sea rle
(1977).
Derrid a 's
interruption
of this tra d ition ha s
genera ted
new lines
of
inquiry
into the
conceptua liza tion
a nd the
politics
of
performa tivity (Ca vell 1995;
Felma n
1983;
Pa rker
a nd
Sed gwick 1995),
a s a well a s a more
genera l
rea ssessment of the rela tions between so-ca lled 'Con-
tinenta l' a nd
'Anglo-Sa x on' philosophica l
tra d itions
(Da senbrock 1989;
Sta ten
1984).
7 See Low
(1999)
a nd Rose
(1997)
for
a pplica tions
of
this line of
thought
in
geogra phy.
8 For a rela ted
d iscussion,
see a lso Deleuze
(1994).
9 It should be noted tha t Derrid a 's
d eployment
of
d iffera nce
works over themes of
spa ce
a nd time
found in the
phenomenologica l
tra d ition,
which a re
d iscussed in d eta il in
Strohma yer (1998).
10 For
d econstruction,
the 'tra ce' ma rks the
pla ce
for the
a rriva l of the
Other,
which ca nnot be
a nticipa ted
or
constituted in a n
id entity
without a red uction to the
Sa me. 'Tra ce' therefore bund les
up
the three over-
d etermined themes of the
possibilities
of
mea ning,
the ethica l rela tion to the Other a nd the
opening
of
spa ce-time
in the movement of
tempora liza tion
a nd
spa cing (Derrid a 1976, 46-7).
11 For further d iscussion of a rticula tion a s a n
a na lytic
pra ctice,
see
Grossberg (1992).
12 For
a na lyses
of this
sort,
see Ba rnett
(1996; 1998;
1999).
13 This
pra ctice
of
resignifica tion
is cha ra cteristic of
post-colonia l litera ry writing. Perha ps
the best
ex a mple
is the
long history
of
a ppropria tions
of The
tempest
in a
va riety
of
geogra phica l
a nd historica l
contex ts. See Nix on
(1987)
a nd Za bus
(1994).
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