Post Class Response 11/21

This week in class as we discussed Derrida and Foucault I was surprised and relieved by the knowledge I gained. Although the reading was challenging at first as we unpacked in class it all began to make sense. I was only able to understand the readings by truly relating them to the other theorists from this semester. Especially felt able to relate and understand Althusser, Macherey, and Barthes more in addition to what Derrida and Foucault teach us and believe in. Last semester I took a listening class in the communications department which was actually a Holt class. For two in half hours a week I sat in with 25 other students and learned how to listen. I was confused and even questioned my sanity and my classmates’ as well as my teachers for even being a part of this class. What I did learn however, was to study and listen to what was not said. Similar to Derrida’s notion of erasure, the listening class really opened my eyes to be aware of the difference. Like Macherey’s “rupture” and Barthes’ “gap” Derrida’s idea of the “erasure” is very similar. It is important to study what is not there or what was once there and no longer exists. This allows a different perspective on things for us and the ability to capture elements of situations that we wouldn’t otherwise see or understand. Like my listening class taught me, while some people feel uncomfortable with silence, others find comfort. I learned that while many people call the silence “awkward” I find it closeness and comfortable to be able to sit in a car for five hours and not say one word. That to me exemplifies a truly special relationship, I mean think about it. Macherey, Barthes, and Derrida all emphasize the importance of this notion of what does not exist.