Jacques Derrida

Marian Hobson's Jacques Derrida: Opening Lines examines the work of a contemporary thinker whose ideas remain debated. Rather than summarising his arguments in the abstract, the book focuses on the language Derrida uses and on how his philosophy is built from it.

A central claim concerns the fact that Derrida wrote in French. Hobson considers how his style, and that basic fact of language, shape the ways English-speaking readers can grasp what he is saying. The discussion is aimed at students of Derrida and at anyone already engaged with his philosophy, particularly those interested in the problem of language.