Hélène Cixous - Lectures / Workshops / Seminars

ON DIFFERENCE: The Difference within Writing and Social Life (3 Credits)

Hélène Cixous, Ph.D.

Description: This course is an exploration of difference within writing and society. We will cross from one bank to the other, from one language to the other in the same language hear the other, hesitate, search for ways to go on living where life leans far out beyond the limits our skin imposes on us—if the world of dreams is not the waking world it does not follow necessarily that one is less true than the other on the contrary, board the text and let yourself glide from one world to the other; follow the dog: is this dog a child, my son, man or soul? Go to “Algeria”: is it a country, a state of mind, an alibi, a tragedy, a comedy?

Objectives: Students shall leave this course with a new critical lens by which their dissertation projects will be enriched. We will aim to enrich our creative writing and feminist theoretical background. Through learning to read and write with and without the body we begin to explore the possibility of subjectivity and coming within and towards writing.

Learning Outcomes: To begin, read each text three times. Next oublire—forgetread—for a few days. Let the dough rest. Then open each text at random, read in the middle, on the sides. Let it rise. Take two sentences, one short, one long, listen to their music. Add some of Proust’s thoughts from Le Temps retrouvé/Time Regained. Some periods from Jacques Derrida’s Circonfession/Circumfession. Taste the infinite taste of literature. Take pleasure seriously. Through relearning the process of reading and writing we open ourselves to the unique theoretical terrain of Cixous and the spirit of writing the body. This course is essential for any scholar or creative artist interested in the work of Jacques Derrida, whom himself called Cixous the best writer in the French language.

Required Readings:

Cixous, Hélène. Stigmata: Escaping Texts. Routledge. November 10, 1998. Hardcover, 208 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0415179785. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr. Paperback, 278 pages, ISBN: 0415345456 Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Susan Sellers (Editor and Translator). The Writing Notebooks of Hélène Cixous. Continuum. 2004. Paperback, 126 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0826493033. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Beverley Bie Brahic (Translator). The Day I Wasn't There. Northwestern University Press. 2006. Paperback, 103 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0810123649 Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Beverley Bie Brahic (Translator). Reveries of the Wild Woman: Primal Scenes. Northwestern University Press. May 29, 2006. Paperback, 104 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0810123630. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Derrida, Jacques and Beverley Bie Brahic (Translator). Geneses, Genealogies, Genres, and Genius: The Secrets of the Archive. Columbia University Press. 2006. Paperback, 128 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0231139799. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Derrida, Jacques, Laurent Milesi and Stefan Herbrechter (Translators). H. C. for Life, That Is to Say... Stanford University Press. May 24, 2006. Paperback, 192 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0804754020. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Recommended Readings:

Proust, Marcel. In Search of Lost Time - Complete 6 Volume Set. Modern Library. 2003. Paperback, 1423 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0812969642. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Derrida, Jacques and Geoffrey Bennington (Translator, Author). Jacques Derrida. University Of Chicago Press. May 1, 1993. Hardcover, 432 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0226042618. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr. Paperback, ISBN: 0226042626. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Sarah Cornell (Translator) and Susan Sellers (Translator). Three steps on the ladder of writing. Columbia University Press. 1993. Paperback, 162 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0231076584. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Deborah Jenson (Editor) and Sarah Cornell (Translator) and Susan Rubin Suleiman (Introduction). Coming to Writing and Other Essays. Harvard University Press. January 1, 1991. Paperback, 214 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0674144376. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Keith Cohen (Translator). The Third Body. Hydra Books/Northwestern University Press. 1999. Paperback, 161 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0810116871. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Eric Penowitz (Editor). The Selected Plays of Hélène Cixous. Routledge. November 13, 2003. Paperback, 240 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0415236681. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Catherine A.F. MacGillivray (Translator). First Days of the Year. University of Minnesota Press. 1998. Paperback, 191 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0816621179/ Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Betsy Wing (Translator). The book of Promethea. University of Nebraska Press. 1991. Paperback, 211 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0803263430 Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Cixous, Hélène and Susan Sellers (Editor). The Hélène Cixous Reader. Routledge. October 3, 1994. Hardcover, 272 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0415049296. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Derrida, Jacques and Héléne Cixous. Veils. Stanford University Press. August 29, 2001. Hardcover, 120 pages, Language English, ISBN: 0804737940. Buy it at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.

Internet Resources:

Guardian of Language: An Interview with Hélène Cixous by Kathleen O’Grady.

Celebrating Hélène Cixous and Maria Chevska / Ex-Cities Book Launch.

Slought Foundation: "Cities: Public Seminar by Cixous" with Hélène Cixous.

UC BerkeleyWebcasts/Video and Podcasts: Hélène Cixous: The Flying Manuscript.

UCSB, Women Studies / English Dept.: Hélène Cixous.