From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx> > Julie goes on to write that her husband wants a tidy definition of > deconstructionism. My suggestion is not to bother. Derrida claims that > he can do without the word 'deconstruction' and that it really can mean > just about anything. Phil is right. "deconstruction" has turned into a word with practically no meaning. the general public uses it in the sense of analyse, discuss, evaluate, take apart, tear up, trendy, and so on. try this: http://news.google.com/news?q=deconstructed&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&sa=N&tab=wn it's a list of news items that use the word "deconstructed". here's a few examples: "...the artist's dizzying range of styles, which vacillate with whiplash intensity between hyperrealistic illustrations and deconstructed abstract compositions..." "I had a deconstructed birthday cake in a waffle cone." "Tiger Woods said this week he was tired of having his swing deconstructed by television analysts." (ah, so that's where all those Eng Lit grads found jobs.) "There's a certain deconstructed, gypsy sensibility to today's skirts; the way they seem to float and flutter at the slightest movement." yrs, andreas www.andreas.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html