Poststructuralism is a movement in philosophy, literary criticism, and cultural studies that emerged in the mid- to late 20th century. It is a reaction against structuralism, which was a dominant school of thought in the 1950s and 1960s.
Structuralism argued that meaning is produced by the underlying structures of language and culture. Poststructuralists, on the other hand, argue that meaning is not fixed or stable, but is instead constantly shifting and changing. They also argue that language and culture are not neutral, but are instead shaped by power relations.
Some of the key thinkers associated with poststructuralism include:
Jacques Derrida: Derrida was a French philosopher who is considered to be one of the founders of poststructuralism. He is known for his work on deconstruction, which is a method of analyzing texts that seeks to reveal the underlying power relations that shape them.
Michel Foucault: Foucault was a French philosopher who is known for his work on power, discourse, and knowledge. He argued that power is not something that is possessed by individuals, but is instead something that circulates through society.
Gilles Deleuze: Deleuze was a French philosopher who is known for his work on difference, repetition, and becoming. He argued that the world is not made up of fixed or stable entities, but is instead a constantly changing and evolving process.
Roland Barthes: Barthes was a French literary critic who is known for his work on semiotics, myth, and pleasure. He argued that texts are not simply repositories of meaning, but are also sites of pleasure and desire.
Julia Kristeva: Kristeva was a Bulgarian-French semiotician and literary critic who is known for her work on intertextuality, abjection, and the semiotic chora. She argued that language is not a neutral medium, but is instead shaped by the body and the unconscious.
Poststructuralism has had a significant impact on a wide range of fields, including philosophy, literary criticism, cultural studies, anthropology, and psychology. It has helped us to understand the way that meaning is produced and the way that power relations shape our understanding of the world.
Poststructuralism can be quite a tricky concept to get to grips with. Ironic, considering structuralism tends to be quite straightforward. Poststructuralism casts doubt on any sense of a coherent and consistent underlying structure and emphasises the contextuality of how meanings are produced. Rather than focusing on the intended meaning behind a “text”, it focuses more on how meanings are constructed by those who read it. It tells us that readings can be multiple and dependent on a person’s position and context. Poststructuralism can be a useful framework for those who are interested in the roles that graphic design might play within particular discourses and how these discourses influence how people engage with visual communication.
Some themes that could be explored using poststructuralism are:
What discourses exist within the formal conventions of graphic design and typography? How much do the supposed “rules” of formal typography and graphic design affect audiences within specific contexts?
How does graphic design operate within specific discourses and how does it assist in the distribution of power within these discourses? Examples of discourses that influence our perception of the world around us include science, health and medicine, gender, the law.
How can the conventions of graphic design and visual communication be deconstructed to highlight the discourses that underpin meaning-making? Deconstruction is a concept developed by Jacques Derrida that seeks to uncover the contradictions and inconsistencies hidden within the rules and conventions of language and communication.