Poststructuralism

Poststructuralism

Understanding Poststructuralist Thought

Poststructuralism, an influential intellectual movement originating primarily in France during the 1960s, presented a significant challenge to the dominant theoretical paradigms of its era. Its evolution is closely tied to a critical dialogue with structuralism, the framework that sought to identify universal, underlying structures in language, culture, and human thought. Grasping this relationship is key to understanding the core ideas and radical departures of poststructuralist inquiry.

Key figures such as Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Roland Barthes were instrumental in establishing the field's core methodologies. Their work involved analysing how language constructs reality, the relationship between power and knowledge, and the instability of meaning. They questioned the idea of fixed meanings and universal truths, emphasising instead the contingent and constructed nature of knowledge. Later developments within poststructuralism continued to explore the implications of these ideas across various disciplines, including literary criticism, philosophy, and cultural studies, leading to a greater focus on issues of discourse, power, and subjectivity. This evolution highlights that poststructuralism is a dynamic and critical field, constantly refining its approach to understanding how meaning is produced and contested.

At its core, poststructuralism rests on several key principles. Firstly, it asserts the inherent instability and fluidity of meaning, suggesting that meaning is not fixed or objectively present but is constantly deferred and constructed through discourse and interpretation. Secondly, it views language not as a transparent reflection of reality but as actively constituting it, shaping our perceptions and understanding. Thirdly, it critiques binary oppositions (e.g., presence/absence, speech/writing) that structure Western thought, arguing these are socially constructed hierarchies. Finally, contemporary poststructuralist thought often insists on understanding how power operates through discourse to shape knowledge and subjectivities.

Key Concepts in Poststructuralist Literary Criticism

Several pivotal concepts are central to understanding poststructuralist literary criticism:

• Deconstruction (Derrida): A critical methodology that involves close reading of texts to reveal their inherent instabilities, ambiguities, and contradictions. It seeks to dismantle hierarchical binary oppositions (e.g., speech/writing, presence/absence) by showing how one term is privileged over the other and how texts often undermine their own foundational assumptions. Différance, a key Derridean term, highlights that meaning arises from differences between signs and is endlessly deferred.

• Discourse and Power/Knowledge (Foucault): Discourse refers to systems of thoughts, statements, practices, and institutions that construct our understanding of the world and what counts as "truth" within a specific historical period. Power and knowledge are seen as inextricably linked; power operates through the production of knowledge, and knowledge legitimises power relations. Power is viewed as productive and pervasive, shaping subjects and norms.

• The Death of the Author (Barthes): This concept challenges the reliance on an author's intentions or biography to determine a text's meaning. Instead, meaning is generated by the reader in their interaction with the text, which is seen as a "tissue of quotations" drawn from various cultural sources. The reader's role becomes active and productive in disentangling these threads.

• Intertextuality (Kristeva): Building on Bakhtin, this concept posits that any text is an "intertext"—a mosaic of quotations where various linguistic and cultural codes intersect and are transformed. Texts are not autonomous but are always in dialogue with other texts, past and present, and meaning is generated through these connections.

• Subjectivity: Poststructuralism challenges the notion of a stable, unified, and autonomous subject. Instead, the subject is seen as constructed through language, discourse, and social contexts—fluid, contingent, and often fragmented. Identity is understood as an ongoing process of formation rather than an essential self.

Applying Poststructuralism to Nikkei Diaspora Literature

Applying poststructuralist literary criticism to Nikkei diaspora literature offers a valuable framework for exploring how these texts engage with fluid identities, contested histories, the power of discourse, and the instability of meaning. This body of literature, produced by Japanese emigrants and their descendants worldwide, grapples with themes of identity, belonging, memory, and displacement, reflecting the multifaceted experiences of living between cultures.

Consider, for example, the analysis of Nikkei literature through a poststructuralist lens:

• Deconstructing "Nikkei Identity": Poststructuralism helps dismantle fixed or essentialist notions of "Nikkei" identity. Nikkei literature often portrays identity as relational, hybrid, and in constant negotiation, shaped by interactions with multiple cultures and histories, rather than a stable essence. Works by authors like Kazuo Ishiguro, Ruth Ozeki, and Hiromi Goto feature characters with fluid, multifaceted selves that challenge simplistic binary oppositions such as homeland/hostland or Japanese/Western. These narratives inherently perform a critique of essentialism.

• Discourse and Power: Foucauldian analysis reveals how discourses of nationalism, racism, or assimilation have constructed Nikkei subjects and influenced their realities, as seen in narratives of wartime internment like John Okada's No-No Boy and Joy Kogawa's Obasan. These texts also function as counter-discourses, bringing forth "subjugated knowledges" that challenge dominant historical narratives and give voice to marginalised experiences. The literature explores the dialectic of power and resistance, showing characters and communities navigating and subverting dominant discourses.

• Language, Silence, and Trauma: The poststructuralist understanding of language as unstable offers insights into representing trauma, which often defies easy articulation. In Kogawa's Obasan, silence is a complex signifier of unspeakable trauma, passive resistance, and experiences beyond words, reflecting a scepticism towards language's transparency. Memory, too, is shown as subjective and reconstructive, not an objective record of the past, aligning with the poststructuralist rejection of singular historical truth.

• Intertextual Connections: Nikkei diaspora literature exists in dialogue with Japanese literary traditions, host country canons, historical documents, and other diasporic texts. Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being, for instance, explicitly weaves together various textual and cultural references, creating layered meanings. Analysing these intertextual links reveals how authors engage with and transform existing narratives to articulate unique diasporic perspectives.

• The Reader's Role: Barthes's "Death of the Author" empowers readers to find multiple meanings in Nikkei narratives, which often feature ambiguity and unreliable narration. The open-endedness in works by Ishiguro or Ozeki invites active reader participation in constructing meaning from complex experiences of identity and displacement.

Throughout this analysis, a poststructuralist approach acknowledges that Nikkei literature is a site where cultural meanings are produced and contested, paying close attention to how these texts engage with wider systems of power and articulate the complexities of diasporic life.

Advantages and Limitations of Poststructuralist Inquiry

Poststructuralist inquiry offers significant advantages for analysing literature, including Nikkei diaspora literature. Its primary strength lies in its ability to deconstruct essentialist categories and reveal the constructedness of identity, meaning, and truth. By emphasising the relationship between discourse and power, it provides critical tools to uncover how social inequalities and power dynamics are embedded in and perpetuated through language and cultural forms. Its focus on the instability of meaning and the "death of the author" opens texts to a multiplicity of interpretations and highlights the active role of the reader. For fields like diaspora studies, its attention to fluidity, hybridity, and the experiences of marginalised groups is particularly valuable, offering a language to articulate the complexities of existing between cultures and challenging dominant narratives. It helps to understand how identities are not fixed but are processes of ongoing negotiation.

However, poststructuralism also faces certain limitations and criticisms. Its theoretical complexity and specialised terminology can sometimes render it inaccessible or lead to charges of intellectual elitism. The emphasis on the instability of meaning and the deconstruction of categories can be seen by some as leading to relativism or nihilism, potentially undermining the basis for political action or ethical judgment. Specifically, the "death of the author" concept has been questioned for potentially effacing the voice and political intent of writers from marginalised communities who aim to reclaim suppressed histories. Furthermore, there's an ongoing debate about the appropriateness of applying theories developed primarily in Western academic contexts to diverse global cultural productions, requiring sensitivity and critical self-reflection in their application. A reflexive and nuanced application is therefore crucial to harness its strengths while being mindful of these potential pitfalls.

Conclusion

Poststructuralism provides a vital framework for analysing literature, particularly for understanding texts emerging from complex socio-historical contexts such as Nikkei diaspora literature. It moves beyond purely formal readings to explore the intricate ways in which language, discourse, and power shape meaning, identity, and social reality. By examining how meanings are produced, circulated, and contested, poststructuralism illuminates the ways in which literature both reflects and actively constitutes our understanding of the world.

Its application to Nikkei diaspora literature allows for a deep engagement with themes of fluid identity, migration, historical trauma, and cultural hybridity. By bringing concepts such as deconstruction, discourse analysis, and intertextuality to the forefront, poststructuralism helps to reveal the multifaceted experiences of Japanese individuals and communities outside Japan, giving voice to narratives that have often been marginalised. It encourages a critical understanding of how these literary works engage with dominant discourses, challenge fixed categories, and articulate unique perspectives on belonging and displacement. While it is important to be mindful of its potential limitations and to apply its methodologies with care and specificity, poststructuralist inquiry offers a dynamic and evolving set of tools for appreciating the richness, complexity, and socio-political significance of literary production in our contemporary world.

Further reading

Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers, Hill and Wang, 1972.

This collection of essays by Roland Barthes is a foundational work that demonstrates early poststructuralist approaches to cultural analysis. Barthes deconstructs everyday myths prevalent in popular culture, revealing how they subtly convey dominant ideologies. The work is crucial for understanding the shift from structuralist semiotics to a more critical, poststructuralist examination of signs and meaning-making in society.

Belsey, Catherine. Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Belsey’s monograph offers a concise and accessible introduction to the key concepts and figures of poststructuralism. It explains complex ideas such as the instability of meaning, the decentred subject, and the relationship between language and power, making it an excellent starting point for students and those new to the field.

Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Translated by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976.

A seminal text by one of poststructuralism's most influential figures, Of Grammatology introduces and elaborates on the method of deconstruction. Derrida critiques the Western philosophical tradition's privileging of speech over writing (logocentrism) and explores the inherent instability and deferral of meaning within language, profoundly impacting literary theory and philosophy.

Dews, Peter. Logics of Disintegration: Poststructuralist Thought and the Claims of Critical Theory. Verso, 1987. (A later paperback edition was published in 2007, but the original is often cited).

Dews provides a rigorous critical analysis of poststructuralist thinkers, particularly those from France, by contrasting their ideas with the tradition of the Frankfurt School. This monograph examines the philosophical underpinnings and limitations of poststructuralist claims, especially concerning rationality, subjectivity, and social critique.

Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing, 1983. (Anniversary editions have been published since, e.g., University of Minnesota Press, 2008).

While covering a range of literary theories, Eagleton's influential introduction includes substantial and highly accessible chapters on structuralism and poststructuralism. It clearly explains the core tenets of poststructuralist thought, its key figures like Derrida, Foucault, and Lacan, and its impact on literary criticism, making it a widely used academic text.

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Pantheon Books, 1977.

In this landmark study, Foucault analyses the historical transformation of punitive systems, illustrating his theories on power, knowledge, and discourse. He argues that modern forms of discipline create "docile bodies" suited to industrial capitalism, demonstrating how power operates productively to shape subjects and social structures, a core theme in poststructuralist thought.

Hoy, David Couzens. Critical Resistance: From Poststructuralism to Post-Critique. MIT Press, 2004.

Hoy's monograph explores the concept of resistance within poststructuralist thought, addressing how thinkers like Nietzsche, Foucault, Bourdieu, and Derrida can account for critical opposition to power structures despite their critique of universal principles. The book serves as both an introduction to this theme and an original contribution to ongoing debates about ethics and agency in contemporary Continental philosophy.