Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that challenges the objectivity and stability of interpretive structures proposed by structuralism, asserting that these structures are fundamentally shaped by broader systems of power. While diverse post-structuralist perspectives offer varied critiques of structuralism, recurring themes include the rejection of structuralism's inherent self-sufficiency and a critical examination of the binary oppositions that form its foundational structures. Consequently, post-structuralism advocates for an approach that eschews the interpretation of media or the world through pre-established, socially constructed frameworks.
Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of power. Although different post-structuralists present different critiques of structuralism, common themes include the rejection of the self-sufficiency of structuralism, as well as an interrogation of the binary oppositions that constitute its structures. Accordingly, post-structuralism discards the idea of interpreting media (or the world) within pre-established, socially constructed structures.
Structuralism posits that human culture can be comprehended through a structural model analogous to language. This framework delineates a concrete reality, abstract conceptualizations of reality, and a "third order" that mediates between these two domains.
A post-structuralist critique, therefore, might contend that constructing meaning from such an interpretation necessitates a (fallacious) assumption that the definitions of these signs are both valid and immutable. Furthermore, it implies that the author employing structuralist theory exists somehow external to and independent of the structures they describe, thereby enabling a complete apprehension of them. The rigidity and propensity to categorize universal truths, characteristic of structuralist thought, frequently serve as targets for post-structuralist inquiry, even as post-structuralism builds upon structuralist notions of reality mediated by the interrelationship of signs.
Prominent figures whose works are frequently categorized as post-structuralist include Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, and Jean Baudrillard, although many theorists labeled "post-structuralist" have disavowed this designation.
History
Post-structuralism emerged in France during the 1960s as a critical response to structuralism. J. G. Merquior observed that a complex "love–hate relationship" with structuralism characterized the intellectual landscape among leading French thinkers of that decade. This period was also marked by significant socio-political upheaval, notably the student and worker rebellions against the state in May 1968.
In his 1966 lecture, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences," Jacques Derrida advanced a thesis concerning a perceived rupture in intellectual discourse. Derrida interpreted this phenomenon as a "decentering" of the established intellectual cosmos, characterizing this "event" as a form of "play" rather than a linear progression or divergence from a fixed center.
The following year, in 1967, Roland Barthes published "The Death of the Author," announcing a metaphorical shift: the demise of the author as the definitive source of meaning for a given text. Barthes argued that any literary text possesses multiple meanings and that the author is not the primary determinant of the work's semantic content. He maintained that the "Death of the Author" simultaneously signified the "Birth of the Reader," who becomes the generative source for the proliferation of textual meanings.
Barthes and the concept of metalanguage
In Elements of Semiology (1967), Barthes introduced the concept of metalanguage, defined as a systematized approach to discussing concepts such as meaning and grammar beyond the confines of a traditional (first-order) language, wherein symbols replace conventional words and phrases. He noted that if one metalanguage is required to explain a first-order language, another might be necessary, potentially leading to metalanguages supplanting first-order languages entirely. Barthes critically exposed the regressive nature of this structuralist system, where linguistic orders depend on a metalanguage for their explanation, thereby risking deconstruction itself becoming a metalanguage and subjecting all languages and discourse to perpetual scrutiny. Barthes' other contributions also advanced deconstructive theories concerning texts.
Derrida's lecture at Johns Hopkins
The occasional classification of post-structuralism as a distinct movement can be attributed to the fact that increasing critiques of structuralism became prominent concurrently with structuralism's growing academic interest in United States universities. This burgeoning interest culminated in a 1966 colloquium at Johns Hopkins University, titled "The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man," which featured presentations by influential French philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, and Jacques Lacan.
Jacques Derrida's lecture, titled "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Human Sciences," delivered at that conference, represented an early effort to articulate theoretical constraints on Structuralism and to develop concepts distinctly divergent from structuralist frameworks.
The term "play" within Derrida's essay title is frequently misconstrued linguistically, often attributed to a broader inclination towards wordplay and humor. Conversely, social constructionism, as elaborated in Michel Foucault's subsequent scholarship, is posited to generate "play" through strategic agency by exposing the mechanisms of historical transformation.
Post-Structuralism and Structuralism
Originating as an intellectual current in France during the 1950s and 1960s, Structuralism investigated latent structures within cultural artifacts, including texts, employing analytical frameworks derived from linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and other disciplines for their interpretation. A core tenet of Structuralism is the concept of binary opposition, where commonly utilized pairs of antithetical yet interconnected terms or concepts are frequently organized hierarchically. Illustrative examples include Enlightenment/Romanticism, male/female, speech/writing, rational/emotional, signified/signifier, symbolic/imaginary, and east/west.
Post-structuralism repudiates the structuralist premise that the dominant term within a binary pair relies upon its subordinate counterpart. Instead, it contends that establishing knowledge solely on either unmediated experience (phenomenology) or systematic structures (structuralism) is untenable, given that historical and cultural contexts inherently shape the examination of underlying structures, rendering them susceptible to biases and misinterpretations. Gilles Deleuze and other theorists perceived this inherent impossibility not as a deficiency or detriment, but rather as an impetus for "celebration and liberation." A post-structuralist methodology posits that comprehending an object, such as a text, necessitates an analysis of both the object itself and the epistemic systems that generated it. The indistinct demarcation between structuralism and post-structuralism is further obscured by the infrequent self-identification of scholars as post-structuralists. Notably, certain academics initially associated with structuralism, including Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, subsequently gained prominence within post-structuralist discourse.
Key Proponents
The individuals listed below are frequently identified as post-structuralists or as having engaged in a post-structuralist phase of their intellectual work:
Critiques
External commentators have challenged the academic rigor and intellectual validity of post-structuralism. In 1990, American philosopher John Searle remarked, "The spread of 'poststructuralist' literary theory is perhaps the best-known example of a silly but non-catastrophic phenomenon." Concurrently, physicist Alan Sokal, in 1997, critiqued "the postmodernist/poststructuralist gibberish that is now hegemonic in some sectors of the American academy."
In her 1999 publication, Who Paid the Piper?, historian Frances Stonor Saunders posits that post-structuralism received financial support and promotion from American intelligence agencies during the Cold War. This initiative aimed to curtail Marxist influence among intellectuals and within academic institutions. Saunders details that the CIA "committed vast resources to a secret programme of cultural propaganda" designed to "nudg[e] the intelligentsia of western Europe away from its lingering fascination with Marxism and Communism towards a view more accommodating of ‘the American way’." She further highlights a CIA report, France: Defection of the Leftist Intellectuals, which commends Foucault for his "critical demoliton of Marxist influence in the social sciences."
In 1992, literature scholar Norman Holland identified a fundamental flaw in post-structuralism, attributing it to the movement's dependence on Ferdinand de Saussure's linguistic model. This model had faced significant challenges by the 1950s and was subsequently largely discarded by linguists:
Saussure's views are not held, so far as I know, by modern linguists, only by literary critics and the occasional philosopher. [Strict adherence to Saussure] has elicited wrong film and literary theory on a grand scale. One can find dozens of books of literary theory bogged down in signifiers and signifieds, but only a handful that refers to Chomsky."
Bibliographic References
References
Source Materials
Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences by Jacques Derrida
- Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences - Jacques Derrida
- Smith, Richard G., ed. (2010). The Baudrillard Dictionary. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748639229. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctt1g09vw4.
- Mizrach, Steve. Talking Pomo: An Analysis of the Post-Modern Movement.
- A comprehensive resource on Michel Foucault, featuring an archive of his writings and lectures.
- A collaborative platform designed to facilitate the description of post-structuralist ideas and the generation of novel concepts rooted in post-structuralist frameworks.