Applying: to Derrida: What might such an extraordinary phrase mean? How are we to read its many folds, its strange, enigmatic grammar? Who does the applying? To whom? In what cases does Derrida apply, and why should scholars apply (themselves) to Jacques Derrida, today, more than ever? In order to find possible answers to such questions, all prospective applicants should apply within to this extraordinary collection of essays, which provides some of the most innovative insights and radical departures in the field of Derridean studies.
Striking out from a number of new headings and in a number of new directions each of the essays in this collection pushes at the borders of their topics, disciplines and ways of thinking, providing innovative and inventive insights into the work - and application - of Jacques Derrida on a diverse range of themes including Irish identity, communication, ethics, love, tele-technology, Victorian studies, the limits of philosophy, translation, otherness and literature, demonstrating that, today, despite repeated accusations over recent years that the work of Derrida has become passe, there is more vitality and spirit in engaging with the writings of Derrida than ever before. This collection of internationally renowned schol ars and fresh young voices gathered here make a spirited challenge to both the dogmas of conventional 'deconstruction' while also making serious demands on those who write off Derridean thought as endless wordplay and pointless punning. This, therefore, will not have been 'deconstruction'. Those with narrow intellectual perspectives need not apply.