Deconstruction Theory

Overview

“What is deconstruction? Nothing, of course.”^[7]

Deconstruction is a “strategic device” and philosophical theory for “reading, interpretation and writing” developed by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.^[4] Technical Writers (TWers) can use deconstruction as a strategy to analyze their text and identify inaccuracies, unintended subjectivity, ambiguity, or gaps that may create challenges for the intended audience.

To deconstruct a text is to "expose the unacknowledged (and perhaps unconscious) taken-for-granted power hierarchies within the text, to reverse them, and […] pull them apart."^[16] According to Derrida, a text’s implied meaning is created by a “sum of its parts.”^[13]

For example, when an audience reads a text, meaning and context are created by the audience’s understanding of the words and surrounding words in the text. Deconstruction identifies the challenges of creating a shared, true understanding because each word contains “infinite interpretations, biases, assumptions, and contradictions.”^[13] A text, therefore, is made up of a vast number of supplementary deconstructive parts.^[13] Each part is “likewise open to further deconstruction ad infinitum in an infinite regress.”^[16] Deconstruction indicates that it is very difficult to create an agreed-upon meaning of any given text.

See Figure 1.0.^[1]

Application

“Deconstruction manifests itself in the process of writing rather than in the product.”^[7]

As a Technical Writer (TWer), one can incorporate theory to help "arrive at knowledge or understanding by questioning, critiquing, and problematizing something that is normally thought or done. [...]"^[15] Theory can help a TWer "do things, see things in a different way, and produce things that have a real effect--an action--in the world."^[15] TWers can apply Derrida’s theory of deconstruction to better examine their approach to research, audience analysis, and technical writing. According to Derrida, deconstruction, at its core, identifies the challenge of writing and reading text. Due to the complexities of language and the infinite possibilities of meaning, clearly communicating and understanding text is a difficult, if not an impossible task. Using deconstruction as a guide, TWers can carefully take apart their text and examine it for gaps and areas of improvement.

Deconstruction Application Strategy for Technical Writers

• 1. Expose: Perform a close read of the text to expose, identify the possible gaps, inaccuracies, or biases. A close read is “an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means.”^[17]

  2. Reverse: Challenge or “reverse” one's thinking around preconceived notions of text and meaning. Carefully research, challenge, consider and assess the validity of the exposed text, identify new possibilities for more accurate or appropriate text.^[16]

  3. Pull Apart: “Pull apart” the text to study and test how each element stands alone. Revise the deconstructed text to create clarity, objectivity, accuracy, and understanding for the audience.^[16]

Author intent

"The author’s intention is reduced to the text."^[2]

There is a longstanding argument in the field of literary criticism on whether the author’s intentions outweigh the reader’s interpretations.^[10] According to Dario Compango in his journal article, Theories of Authorship and Intention in the Twentieth Century, the “original meaning placed in the text by the author is the true meaning a reader must seek to understand.^[2] Deconstruction, however, consists in putting author intentions ‘out of joint’.^[8] TWers can apply deconstruction strategy in their writing process to assess clarity, usability, and objectivity for their audience.

It is important as a TWer to understand and identify the limitations of author intent.^[3] Limitations include:

1. Text that can only be understood by uncovering the author's original meaning or implied context.

2. Text that requires author intervention or further explanation.

3. Text based on author’s bias, perceptions, assumptions.

According to Derrida, written text must be able to stand alone without the support or the explanation of an author. In the field of technical writing, the TWer may not be present during an audience's consumption of the text. The TWer cannot explain or address inquiries to ensure the audience correctly interprets the content as intended. The audience must be able to understand a text as it is written and not have to work to uncover the author’s intentions.

“There is nothing outside the text.”^[3] A TWer must ensure that their "text is a function of a system, not an individual.”^[9] Technical text must be clear and effectively written. The audience must be able to accurately perform a task, or create an action or result based on the text. By keeping in mind the limitations of author intent, the TWer can strive to create text that is usable, objective, easy to understand, and meets the audience’s requirements.

Audience analysis

When creating text, the TWer may make assumptions about the audience. This is due to social and institutional structures and biases. The TWer assumes the audience will correctly interpret the meaning of the text due to existing knowledge and familiarity with the subject matter.

Developing text based on audience assumptions can be problematic and risky for the TWer. Text that is ambiguous, inaccurate, or confusing could ultimately be dangerous for the audience. “Deconstruction seeks out those points or cracks in the system,”^[14] the institutional "‘blind spots’"^[11] of the audience analysis. “In locating these points and applying a kind of authority to them, one is able to deconstruct the system.”^[7] Therefore, if a TWer approaches their audience analysis from a deconstructive lens, they apply an awareness to these institutional blind spots. A TWer can more carefully research and assess the validity of their assumptions. With informed clarity, the TWer can determine appropriate content, word choice, format, and text structure. This increases the likelihood of the audience accurately interpreting and understanding the text.

Informed writing

"Deconstruction manifests itself in the process of writing rather than in the product."^[16]

It is important for TWers to note that “deconstruction is not destruction but rather the dismantling of cultural, philosophical, institutional structures”^[11] that are potentially incomplete and subjective. TWers can use deconstruction as a writing process or strategy. It is not to eliminate or shorten text. It is used to analyze and "expose the unacknowledged (and perhaps unconscious) taken-for-granted power hierarchies within the text, to reverse them, and finally to pull them apart."^[16] Utilizing deconstruction as a writing strategy helps to acknowledge and navigate the complexities and subjectivity of words and their infinite possibilities and assumptions.

TWers can be attentive to Derrida's observation on Différance as it applies to writing and reading text. As Derrida explains in his book, Limited Inc (1988), there is “no experience of pure presence, but only chains of differential marks.”^[5]

A simple sentence contains infinite assumptions, possibilities, and challenges for a writer and reader. For example, 'The dog ran.' contains infinite number of meanings and associations created by the individual words and the surrounding words. Derrida refers to this observation as Différance. Each reader will experience a different meaning of the words and therefore, the sentence itself.

• The (see Figure 1.0 ^[1])

• dog (breed, color, size, shape, age, etc., see Figure 1.0 ^[1])

• ran (how, why, where, etc., see Figure 1.0 ^[1])

What this sentence (see Figure 1.0) uncovers are the complexities of words and interpretations and the challenges of creating shared meaning. By understanding différance, as it applies to writing and reading technical text, TWers can approach their writing process and word selections more thoughtfully and with an improved awareness of infinite interpretations of the text.

"The very act of reading creates a new and different text."^[16]

Figure 1.0: Deconstruction: Infinite interpretations of text^[1]