Jacques Derrida: Deconstruction Engaged

Dr Sara Khan (Lecturer, Department of Humanities) organized a seminar on “Jacques Derrida: Deconstruction Engaged”. Guest Speaker, Dr Tabassum Saba (Assistant Professor at the Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lahore) gave a comprehensible lecture that helped the attendees understand Derrida and the origins of deconstruction. The speaker highlighted features Derridian works: “Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences” and “Différance.” Derrida’s critique of structuralism and semiotics, particularly the work of Levi-Strauss and Saussure, were articulated. Deconstruction’s central assertions that language is by nature arbitrary and that meaning is indeterminate were examined. Key concepts, such as the nature of the text, discourse, différance, and supplementarity were explained and explored by the speaker.
Main goal of this seminar was to impart richer understanding of deconstruction amongst students of English Language and Literature. Study of Deconstruction as theory of text analysis aims to erase the boundary between binary oppositions—and to do so in such a way that the hierarchy implied by the oppositions is thrown into question. Although its ultimate aim may be to criticize Western logic, deconstruction arose as a response to structuralism and formalism. The seminar benefited the students of MS English Language and Literature (SP22 REL A) to understand the process of dismantling language to discover what is really being said beneath the surface; usually, this will be different from what is already considered to be known about the text.

Organizer: Dr. Sara Khan Guest Speaker: Dr Tabassum Saba is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of English Language and Literature, University of Lahore. She participated successfully in a webinar on Dissecting the scholarly publishing: An overview and guidance on publishing of John Wiley & Sons, publishing company. She also completed an online course on Grammar and Style from the University of Queensland through edX. She presented her research work at 4 international and 1 national conference in Pakistan. Her research interest lies in the fields of Critical Discourse Studies, Online and Offline Spaces, Space and Place, and Socio-pragmatic Studies.
Venue: IRCBM Meeting Room
Date and Timings: Tuesday, 6th December, 2022, Timings: 02:30pm- 05:30pm