Jacques Derrida was extremely difficult to comprehend at first, but I feel like I was able to grab what he was getting at. He starts off by saying that difference “Indicates distinction, inequality, discernibility; on the other hand it expresses the interposition of delay, the interval of a spacing and temporalizing that puts off until later what is presently denied, the possible that is presently impossible” (120). Difference deals with the present in relation to the past. For example, going back to your kindergarten playground now would change the way you looked at it many years ago. When you were younger, the playground in its’ then present state seemed huge and full of adventure. Reflecting back on that, you realize it was just an ordinary playground. The difference occurs due to a deferral in time, or more simply the passing of time.
“Every concept is necessarily and essentially inscribed in a chain or system, within which it refers to another and to other concepts, by the systematic play of differences” (127).
Any new concept that is created must be explained by comparing it to a previous concept. This is where we understand the differences between the two. However, differance is neither a word nor a concept. I’m not sure I totally understood what Derridas meant by the term differance, because he described it in so many ambiguous ways. I think the point he is trying to drive home is that differance is just a fancy way of spelling difference. He created a concept to show how powerful language can truly be. He says that differance is the closure of presence, which to me is confusing. I think he is noting de Saussure to give credence to the power of language. He cleverly used the words difference and differance to trick people into thinking there was in fact a major difference between the two.
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Good go at understanding the reading! We we warned you the theorists do get more difficult and more dense as the semester continues, but we're nearly at the end! You have a basic grasp of what he means with the whole 'difference' thing regarding language. Which others theorist talks about language? It may help to read over DeSaussure's material before your post-class post since both of them talk about language. I will tell you that the difference between 'difference' and 'differance' is better to understand if we spoke french - don't forget that many of these theorists's works are translated for us to enjoy! :)
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