Jacques Derrida’s Cambridge Affair

Niall Gildea teaches Critical Theory at Goldsmiths College and Queen Mary, University of London, UK.

The so-called Cambridge affair surrounding the work of Jacques Derrida was both a tempest in a teapot and a significant event. Despite its “teapot” provenance, the Cambridge affair needs to be understood if one is to understand Derrida’s biographical and philosophical development, the “theory wars” of the 1980s and 1990s, and the gulf separating Anglo-American philosophy and Continental philosophy. Gildea (critical theory, Goldsmiths College and Queen Mary, Univ. of London, UK) provides the material and analysis needed to truly come to terms with this often-referenced (yet poorly understood) event. A great merit of the book is the archival detail it presents. Although the press covered the issue, the perspectives of those actually involved lie in the archives at the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Irvine. One substantial chapter examines the in-house argument among Cambridge faculty articulated via fly sheets. Gildea follows this welcome factual presentation with substantial analysis of the relevant issues in Derrida’s work—e.g., the definitions and roles of philosophy and the university. In the book's concluding section, Gildea deals with thinkers (e.g., Martin Hägglund, J. Hillis Miller, Ernesto Laclau) who have elaborated on these issues. Gildea has produced a definitive treatment of a defining moment in Derrida’s intellectual career. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.

• Preface / 1. Reprising the Cambridge Affair / 2. Some Kantian stereotypes: the (conflict of) The Conflict of the Faculties / 3. The place of philosophy / 4. 'Préférance' / Conclusion / Bibliography / Index