About the Book
Deconstruction and pragmatism constitute two of the major intellectual influences on the contemporary theoretical scene; influences personified in the work of Jacques Derrida and Richard Rorty. Both Rortian pragmatism, which draws the consequences of post-war developments in Anglo-American philosophy, and Derridian deconstruction, which extends and troubles the phonomenological and Heideggerian influence on the Continental tradition, have hitherto generally been viewed as mutually exclusive philosophical language games. The purpose of this volume is to bring deconstruction and pragmatism into critical confrontation with one another through staging a debate between Derrida and Rorty, itself based on discussions that took place at the College International de Philosophie in Paris in 1993. The ground for this debate is layed out in introductory papers by Simon Critchley and Ernesto Laclau, and the remainder of the volume records Derrida's and Rorty's responses to each other's work. Chantal Mouffe gives an overview of the stakes of this debate in a helpful preface.
Table of Contents:
Contents: A.F. Healy, L.E. Bourne, Jr., Preface. Part I:Introductory Overview.A.F. Healy, I. Barshi, R.J. Crutcher, L. Tao, T.C. Rickard, W.R. Marmie, V.I. Schneider, A. Feldman, C.J. Buck-Gengler, S.G. Romero, N.B. Sherrod, J. Parker, L.E. Bourne, Jr., Toward the Improvement of Training in Foreign Languages. Part II:Vocabulary and Concept Acquisition.A. Feldman, A.F. Healy, Effect of First Language Phonological Configuration on Lexical Acquisition in a Second Language. V.I. Schneider, A.F. Healy, L.E. Bourne, Jr., Contextual Interference Effects in Foreign Language Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention. R.J. Crutcher, The Role of Prior Knowledge in Mediating Foreign Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention: A Process Analytic Approach. M. Serwatka, A.F. Healy, On the Status of the Count-Mass Distinction in a Mental Grammar. S.E. Gathercole, A.S.C. Thorn, Phonological Short-Term Memory and Foreign Language Learning. Part III:Language Comprehension.I. Barshi, A.F. Healy, Misunderstandings in Voice Communication: Effects of Fluency in a Second Language. L. Tao, A.F. Healy, Anaphora in Language Processing: Transfer of Cognitive Strategies by Native Chinese, Dutch, English, and Japanese Speakers. I. Barshi, D. Payne, Argument Structure and Maasai Possessive Interpretation: Implications for Language Learning. M.F. St. John, M.A. Gernsbacher, Learning and Losing Syntax: Practice Makes Perfect and Frequency Builds Fortitude. Part IV:Reading Processes.J. Moravcsik, A.F Healy, Highlighting Important Words Leads to Poorer Comprehension. C.J. Buck-Gengler, S.G. Romero, A.F. Healy, L.E. Bourne, Jr., The Effect of Alphabet and Fluency on Unitization Processes in Reading. A.T. Gesi Blanchard, Transfer Effects of First Language Proficiency on Second Language Reading. Part V:Bilingualism.M. Brauer, Stroop Interference in Bilinguals: The Role of Similarity Between the Two Languages. A. Miyake, N.P. Friedman, Individual Differences in Second Language Proficiency: Working Memory as "Language Aptitude." J.F. Kroll, E. Michael, A. Sankaranarayanan, A Model of Bilingual Representation and Its Implications for Second Language Acquisition. Part VI:Commentary.B. McLaughlin, Second-Language Learning Revisited: The Psycholinguistic Perspective.
About the Author :
Alice F. Healy, Lyle E. Bourne Jr.
Review :
"A strength of the book is that each chapter attempts, in greater or lesser degree, to relate the findings of the study to second language teaching, enhancing the potential relevance of the work....Overall, the text is readable and clear."
—Contemporary Psychology
