Of Grammatology is a three-part philosophical text by French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Originally titled De la grammatologie, it was published in 1967 by Les Éditions de Minuit in France. It was later translated for the English world by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and republished in 1997 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Derrida explores the nature of criticism through deconstruction, structuralism, and phenomenology. When it was initially released in 1967, it sparked so much controversial debates that it forever changed the field of criticism. At a time when criticizing the fields of literature, humanities, and philosophy in the Western world was unheard of, Derrida dared the status quo to ask questions that shaped the very society that we live today.
Spivak's translation further expanded the reach of this revolutionary text that dared to shake the foundation of literary works all around the world. Derrida critiques works from notable authors who had previously cemented their place as pioneers in their fields. He literarily gave birth to the nature of critics as we know them today. Before it was finally released, it underwent numerous rejections from literary societies who felt his work was a disrespect to all the works he'd deconstructed.
