Derrida, Jacques[derida] (1930¨C2004) French philosopher-linguist, born in Algeria. He studied in Paris and taught at Harvard, Yale, the Sorbonne, and the Ecole Normale Sup¨¦rieure. His critique of the referentiality of language and the objectivity of structures founded the school of criticism called deconstruction. He advocated that the reader should look at how a text was put together in order to reveal its hidden meanings and the assumptions of the author. Among his highly influential works are De la Grammatologie (1967, Of Grammatology), L'¨¦criture et la diff¨¦rence (1967, Writing and Difference), La Voix et le ph¨¦nom¨¨ne (1967, Speech and Phenomena), and La diss¨¦mination (1972, Dissemination). His essay Apories appeared in 1996. The award of an honorary degree by Cambridge University in 1992 was publicly contested, prompting attacks on and defences of his work. See also Major Works: 1967 Of Grammatology |