New School for Social Research

Instructor: Timothy Quigley

SECOND PAPER ASSIGNMENT

A book like this, a problem like this, is in no hurry; we both, I just as much as my book, are friends of lento. It is not for nothing that I have been a philologist, perhaps I am a philologist still, that is to say, a teacher of slow reading:- in the end I also write slowly. Nowadays it is not only my habit, it is also to my taste - a malicious taste, perhaps? - no longer to write anything which does not reduce to despair every sort of man who is 'in a hurry'. For philology is that venerable art which demands of its votaries one thing above all: to go aside, to take time, to become still, to become slow - it is a goldsmith's art and connoisseurship of the word which has nothing but delicate, cautious work to do and achieves nothing if it does not achieve it lento. But precisely for this reason it is more necessary than ever today, by precisely this means does it entice and enchant us the most, in the midst of an age of 'work', that is to say, of hurry, of indecent and perspiring haste, which wants to 'get everything done' at once, including every old or new book:- this art does not so easily get anything done, it teaches to read well, that is to say, to read slowly, deeply, looking cautiously before and aft, with reservations, with doors left open, with delicate eyes and fingers...My patient friends, this book desires for itself only perfect readers and philologists: learn to read me well!

Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak (Ruta, near Genoa, in the autumn of 1886.)

I've given you two articles, "The Decentering Event in Social Thought" by Jacques Derrida and "From Work to Text" by Roland Barthes. Both of these texts have contributed significantly to the emergence of "poststructuralism".

Read both of these articles slowly and thoughtfully...and then, describe, in your own words, what these texts contribute to the phenomenon characterized by Surber as poststructualism. What are they arguing for and in what sense are the texts "poststructuralist" in nature?

Papers are due on 1 Dec 98 at the beginning of class. Late papers will not be accepted.

All papers should be approximately five pages in length. This is a rough guideline. If you write fewer than five pages, you are probably not being thorough enough. If you write more than five pages, your paper may be lacking in focus.

All papers must be typed. You will be graded on the form and content of your paper, so pay close attention to both appearance and grammar. All papers must be double-spaced with one-inch margins with the appropriate endnotes or footnotes (as you prefer). Be sure to cite all of your sources in your notes, including both the title of the work and page number. If you need additional instructions or guidelines, see me.

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© T. R. Quigley, 1998