A poststructuralist theory mainly based on the writings of the French intellectual Jacques Derrida. Deconstruction posits that meaning, as accessed through language, is indeterminate because language [..]

The process by which the audience identifies the elements that make up the construction of meaning within a text.

1973, as a strategy of critical analysis, in translations from French of the works of philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004). The word was used in English in a literal sense from 1865 of building and [..]

Deconstruction is a form of criticism first used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1970s which asserts that there is not one single intrinsic meaning to be found in a work, but rather many, [..]

An interpretive movement in literary theory that reached its apex in the 1970s. Deconstruction rejects absolute interpretations, stressing ambiguities and contradictions in literature. Deconstruction [..]

Deconstruction, associated especially with French philosopher and literary critic Jacques Derrida, grew out of structuralism. But whereas structuralists argued that meaning can be pinned down in a net [..]

An interpretive movement in literary theory that reached its apex in the 1970s. Deconstruction rejects absolute interpretations, stressing ambiguities and contradictions in literature. Deconstruction [..]

Controversial mode of textual analysis that can reveal hidden ideological assumptions. Questions hierarchical thinking in which one term is privileged over another (e.g. culture versus nature, man versus woman). Draws on thought of French theorist Jacques Derrida, who elaborated on linguist Ferdinand de Saussure s vision of language as a system of [..]

Critical analysis. Mainly of literary text where there can be no reference for language and no grounding for truth claims. See postculturalism.

Form of literary criticism developed by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida which stated that literary texts (including poems) have no fixed or definitive meaning but, instead, are full of co [..]

A form of analysis which examines the various discourses represented by various forms of representation (known as texts). These meanings are regarded as continually changing through the interactions o [..]

Deconstruction is a term with two rather distinct meanings. First, it refers to critical dialectical processes. Second, it is a specific approach to literary analysis developed in the work of Derrida [..]

The practice of deconstruction starts with the idea that texts, discourses are the result of multiple determinations, so that what is said is shaped by conditions of possibility and a process of const [..]

(n) a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning

a term originating in the work of Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) referring to the systematic analysis of texts to reveal how they 'construct' their object as if dealing with a definite 'pr [..]

A technique practitioners are using to salvage valuable building materials, reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills, and mitigate other environmental impacts. It is the disassembly of a buil [..]

A process to carefully dismantle or remove useable materials from structures, as an alternative to demolition. It maximizes the recovery of valuable building materials for reuse and recycling and mini [..]

Sometimes referred to as ‘construction in reverse’, deconstruction is the selective dismantling of a building for re-use, recycling and waste management. The technique is in contrast to ‘demolition’ w [..]

Dismantling buildings and salvaging reusable materials to conserve resources and landfill space. ^ back to top

Our understanding of language is comprised or “constructed” of a complex interrelationship of spoken sounds, written marks, and a cultural system of signs where these signs obtain meaning through its [..]

(philosophy,literature) A philosophical theory of textual criticism; a form of critical analysis that emphasizes inquiry into the variable projection of the meaning and message of critical works, th [..]

Binary oppositions (e.g. masculine-feminine) often operate in cultures on the basis of the assumed privilege of one term. An aim of deconstruction is to call into question this hierarchy, to deconstru [..]