Post Class 11/12 - Melanie Roth

          Our class discussion today about Derrida and Foucault’s readings helped me grasp a better understanding of their texts. One of the more interesting things discussed in Difference, by Jacques Derrida, was the notion of “metaphysics of presence”. By desperately wanting presence to have a direct meaning, assumption takes control, and we are unaware of the overall illusion. Derrida states “every concept is necessarily and essentially inscribed in a chain or a system, within which it refers to another and to other concepts, by the systematic play of differences” (127). When this passage was presented to us in class, the word “lead” was used, to exemplify how vocalizing is another aspect of how the meaning can change. Miscommunication in this day of age is very common, especially through technological ways of correspondence. When this idea was introduced in class, I immediately thought of ways in which photographs can be misinterpreted as well. Facebook is one of the main places for this misinterpretation to occur.

            In my junior year of high school, I was almost stripped of my captainship for both Lacrosse and Field Hockey, due to a photo on Facebook. My friend and I were smiling in the picture, and in the background was a single beer can perched on a table. This photo was from a party that occurred off-season, and there was no evidence that I was even the one drinking. A meeting between the principle, vice principle, head of the athletic department, my coaches, and my parents occurred, and unwillingly the school administration lifted my charges, allowing me to keep my captainships and remain unsuspended from the team. This experience exemplifies Derrida’s notion of miscommunication through illusive meaning, while also affirming Foucault theory, “Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance” (101). In class we discussed how spectacle is derived from surveillance, and how because of technology broadcasting us at all times, our generation specifically has no room for mistakes. Unlike past generations, one mistake that goes viral could ruin so much for the future. Loosing two captainships because of a silly picture could have affected me far down the line. Without having those leadership positions, Rollins could have overlooked my college application, and I could be attending school somewhere completely different. 

            I was extremely hesitant about the readings originally but after our discussions in class, I have enjoyed learning about Derrida and Foucault’s theories.