Perspectives | Key Words #6

• Normativity - creating or relating to a certain standard or norm. Doing something based on a norm. For example a normative production is when the process follows the standards set by a company.
• Binary Opposition - also known as the binary system which consists of two concepts that are opposite in meaning for example modern computers are using this system having “1s” (true) and “0s” (false) as a communication/command tool.
• Deconstruction - the act of breaking something down into its individual parts in hope of understanding its structure, meaning or mechanism. Mostly it is understood as a philosophical method of critically studying and questioning of the meaning of words in literature. In short: analyzing the relationship between text and meaning.
• Différance - a term used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his theory of deconstruction. It has the general idea/meaning that since every person has different moods, background and way of perceiving things therefore a word will not have the same meaning for every person. In his concept he claims that each single word cannot give complete description. In fact words need other words to give it context/meaning.
• Reinscribe - it may mean to rename or redefine something in a new context or simply re-write or carve words into something.
• Cognitive dissonance - mental discomfort caused by simultaneously having two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas or values for example when a person with Christianity discusses the origin of the earth with a scientist. Both people may feel mental discomfort since their beliefs are critically questioned.

 

• Judith Butler -  is an American philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics and the fields of third-wave feminist, queer and literary theory. As a philosopher she mainly focuses on discussing the topic of the sex and how it affects the gender and the desire of a person. She claims that gender is merely a performance which you do at certain times that defines your gender rather than a universal "who you are". 
•  During her studies at the Yale University she was very engaged with continental philosophy and therefore read various books and works of Karl Marx, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty which influenced her a lot until today. She published her first essays about feministic theories in the late 90s and her book "Gender Trouble. Feminism and the Subversion of Identity" published in 1990 got international attention and inspired many.