And now I could try out for the role of the coy intellectual, like Mr. Baudrillard here:
Some here feel that the study of the humanities at our universities has been damaged by the incursion of deconstruction and other French theories.
That was the gift of the French. They gave Americans a language they did not need. It was like the Statue of Liberty. Nobody needs French theory.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/magazine/20wwln_q4.htmlBut instead I'll pronounce you all correct, which is to say that I chose those two words because there were multiple ways of reading them. The thought's origin, however, was in a conversation earlier in the day, subsequent to a visit by Jacques Ranciere, in which I said that with some speakers the experience is more about form than content, you enjoy the *shape* of a sentence or even of the whole speech.
And since someone asked off-list, no I don't think I've ever said, "buggery." I chose it because is sounds so unlikely and outdated and strange. "Bugger that," yes. But not "buggery."
David Ritchie, Portland, Oregon
