Abstract

The title of my dissertation is: Plurabilities: Chomsky, Derrida and Wittgenstein. In this dissertation I am in the process of examining on a comparative basis three major language theorists of the 20th century whose contributions affect literature, philosophy, linguistics, social science theory, politics, religion, ethics etc. The basis of my comparison is what I infer from the works of Derrida to be the postmodern definition of the text--that anything can be a text in the absence of a given structure. So in a broad sense, Derrida is the basis of my reading. Yet Derrida is also one of the thinkers that I'm attempting to read along with Chomsky and Wittgenstein. That would be the Derridean point which would see Derrida himself as a point of view. ;Three abilities--Chomsky, Derrida and Wittgenstein--have come together to dismantle the grand project termed as "Western" philosophy; in effect, to manifest the plurality of all writing. While I would like to view my own reading of "Western" writers as an instance of cultural imperialism, I also would like to believe that this enables me to read into the situatedness of poststructuralism as well as "situatedness" as a discourse that predominates any study of poststructuralism. "Situations" is one of the possible titles that I can think of to distinguish my project. I'm choosing three situations and bringing them together in order to address my own situatedness as a reader