What is Post-Structuralism?

Assigned reading: Chapter 8 of The Order of Things by Michel Foucault.

Structuralism is the methodology that seeks to understand human behavior and events through systems that arose in sociology, anthropology, and linguistics in the early twentieth century as a parallel to existentialism in Europe. Post-structuralism, by extension, can be considered the continuation or rejection of this movement. This seminar seeks to address the question of what post-structuralism is by reading a handful of authors who could be considered “structuralists” as well as “post-structuralists,” including, but not limited to, Judith Butler, Gilles Deleuze, Hélène Cixous, Jacques Derrida, Umberto Eco, Michel Foucault, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Jean-François Lyotard, and Paul Ricœur.

Since this is primarily a seminar focused on texts, participants are encouraged to read the posted materials every other week and come prepared with questions. For folks who are interested in the discussion, but would prefer a less rigorous approach, we will also host a philosophy mixer every few sessions to welcome new people.

We will generally meet Wednesdays, 5:30 PM–7:30 PM at the Goose Hollow Inn near Providence Park on SW Jefferson. You can reach it via the Max Blue Line and there is street parking nearby. Folks traveling from the west side can make use of the Park and Ride at Sunset and Beaverton TC. Connecting buses include 58 Canyon Rd or 6 ML King Jr Blvd.

For questions, please email seminar organizer Kellye McBride at kellyemcbrideediting@gmail.com.