Derrida and the Writing of the Body

Jones Irwin is Lecturer in Philosophy and Human Development at St. Patrick's College, Dublin City University, Ireland

• Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 Derrida, Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and the ‘Writing of the Body’; Chapter 2 ‘Except for a Certain Laughter’; Chapter 3 From the ‘Outwork’ to ‘Plato’s Pharmacy’; Chapter 4 Mallarmé After Plato; Chapter 5 What if Truth Were a Woman? On Spurs; Chapter 6 On Derrida and Feminism; Chapter 7 Re-Politicising Deconstruction; Chapter 101 Conclusion;

A remarkable book that forcefully and convincingly argues that central to Derrida’s thought are issues of embodiment and sexuality. Jones Irwin begins with a nuanced and well-argued analysis of 'Derrida’s debt to Artaud and moves on to examine the important role Bataille and Mallarme play in Derrida’s deconstruction of embodiment and desire. With two extraordinary chapters on Derrida and feminism, including a long discussion of deconstruction’s contributions to queer theory, this is an essential book not only for serious readers of Derrida, but for all those engaged with issues of embodiment, desire, and politics.' Peg Birmingham, DePaul University Chicago, USA 'Irwin has undertaken a daunting task in endeavouring to bring clarity of vision to Derrida’s works. [His] explanations of his texts in relation to the body, its deconstruction, the politics of the body (particularly in terms of disempowerment and value) and feminist related concepts are well supported and easily understood by any student across the various disciplines this work covers.' M/C Reviews 'Irwin's concise and illuminating introduction contains not only a justification for his project but also for his methodology and choice of texts... Irwin combines a well considered mix of academic inquiry and language in order to be intellectually stimulating and thought provoking, with a helpful amount of background knowledge to help foreground the key issues of the debate, making the book suitable for undergraduates through to more senior Derridean or performance and gender studies theorists. By providing this well researched introduction, Irwin offers new starting points from which to re-enter and re-engage with some of Derrida's major, and less major, works.' Somatechnics