deconstruction
5
9.4
- noun
- /ˌdiːkənˈstrʌkʃən/
- Literature
:
deconstrucción
- The story lends itself to a deconstruction of several oppositions, many suggested by the title: masterpiece/work; known/unknown;
- deconstruction and structuralism
- deconstruction and feminism
- deconstruction critique
And, and it's, it's the deconstruction of America.
- And, and it's, it's the deconstruction of America.
- It is an exploration of my spiritual deconstruction through the means of country music.
- It couldn't be pitched as a story about the deconstruction of the American Indian people, which is what it was really about.
Examples
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Unlike much deconstructive criticism, a rhetorical deconstruction is never an end in itself.
Academic text (1991) -
Here we can see how the aims and strategies of deconstruction and satire might overlap.
Fiction book (1991) -
For example, twenty years ago, deconstruction must have seemed exciting to a generation of students in English literature.
Academic text (1999) -
A deconstruction of the Neo-Romantic period in art.
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What they are are in some sense deconstructions of religious myths.
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Unfortunately, because background information regarding Graffiti Hurts is very difficult to find, academic deconstruction of the organization is limited.
Academic text (2011) -
Intensified, this questioning became the first step in the deconstruction of a dominant discourse.
Academic text (1993) -
McDermott and Varenne (1995) give a powerful deconstruction of learning disability.
Academic text (2011) -
Leach concludes that Black Athena offers us "a deconstruction rather than a reconstruction of Mediterranean prehistory."
Academic text (1991) -
The professor conducted a thorough deconstruction of the novel, revealing its complex themes and hidden meanings.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A way of reading texts that looks for hidden ideas and parts that do not agree
Antonyms
How Critical
Surface Forms
Morphology
deconstruction = construction (semi-transparent) = de + construct + ion
The components 'de-' + 'construction' are clear, but the specialized philosophical meaning (Derridean theory) is a technical extension not directly inferable by all learners.
Etymology
The word deconstruction is made of de- ('take away') and construct ('build'), the same root as the word construct. In literary study it is like taking apart a building the writer has built in a text to show hidden contradictions, so you can see how the meaning was made.