ENGL 600 Studies in Criticism: ¨The Philosophical Beast
First Paper Assignment
Short paper, 4 pages, due on 10/29, worth 20% of total course grade
(You may find you are unable to pare down your discussion to 4 pgs—if so, you can go
over, but only 5 pages—I won’t read more. The idea is to learn how to do the kind of
concision and condensation necessary to short pieces, a skill necessary to writing
conference papers.)
In this paper I want you to tackle Paul Auster’s Timbuktu in much the same way as we’ve
been in class all along. Use the theoretical/philosophical texts to read the literary text, and
at the same time use the literary text to read the theoretical/philosophical text.
This kind of doubling back of the textual engagement is really what lies at the heart of
Derrida’s “deconstruction.” Therefore, it’s only fitting to try reading Timbuktu in light of
Derrida’s own text, The Beast and the Sovereign.
Use one or more of Derrida’s seminars in The Beast and the Sovereign, or one or more
concepts. If you use concepts, be sure these are tightly defined, contextualized within the
concepts’ place in the seminars and within the work as a whole. Take these ideas as a
way to read one or more scenes in Timbuktu, while being sure to explore any part of that
scene or another one in the novel that can conversely be used to read Derrida’s
seminar(s).
You may find it helpful to use Calarco’s Zoographies to help you think through this latter
move. Be sure to attribute any and all textual references, of course, and to have a strong
thesis (ie, don’t be Derridean in this regard).