Abstract:

 Since the publication of On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after Structuralism in 1982, “deconstruction” has long been a hot word for arguments in literary and cultural critics. In its broadest sense, deconstruction represents an attitude of criticism over takenforgranted authority. Together with other postmodernist and poststructural thoughts, it inspires questioning into the established categories and classics, thus challenging their objectivity.  The preface to the 25th anniversary version focuses on the following areas to present deconstruction’s fluctuating history since the 1980s: feminism/gender study/queer theory, religion/theology, architecture as well as politics, law and ethics.

Key words:  deconstruction, binary opposition, ethics, gender study