POMO rants (was dfw ... nobel specks)

[Joe Varo]

On Thu, 22 May 1997 MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu wrote:

> [...]
> Good spirited sharing of ideas--just what the list excels at!! 

I agree with you there, John.  In fact I've been enjoying the current
thread on pomo & decon.  I've been trying to get a grasp on Derrida and
decon for about 15 yrs or so now.

When I was in college, Derrida really hadn't yet hit the mainstream.  In
fact, the first time I'd ever heard of him was in an article in Time
magazine during my senior year.  Being a bit of a Heidegger nut at the
time, I began reading whatever I could find by the guy.

Since I'm pretty much "self-taught" as far as decon goes, I enjoy seeing
those of you who have formally studied the stuff argue it's points.  I
recently picked up a copy of "Derrida For Beginners" and having read it, I
can say one of two things: 1) I have done a better reading of Derrida than
I thought, since the book really didn't tell me anything I didn't already
know, or 2) the author of the book has as superficial an understanding of
Derrida as I do.  I'm hoping for #1.

By the way...does anyone else enjoy these "_____ for Beginners" books?
Even if it's subject is something you know quite well, they're really
rather entertaining.  I'm anxiously waiting for them to release their
"Lacan for Beginners", someone upon whom I've yet to get any kind of
grasp.

Sometimes I find decon utterly fascinating...at others I have to wonder at
the point of it all.

Joe