"In a classical philosophical opposition we are not dealing with the peaceful co-existence of a vis-á-vis, but a violent hierarchy. . . . To deconstruct the opposition first of all is to overturn the hierarchy at a given moment."
-Jacques Derrida*
Social Etymologies was founded in 2005 by Lisa Arrastía as a site for critical resources dealing with culture--ideas, texts, individuals, and politics--founded upon the premise that culture is political. The materials offered here may help in the struggle to see culture, in the words of Raymond Williams, as "a whole way of life"; something deserving of political-economic analysis.
The site adds to the multitude of internet spaces, some exegetical, some not, where information is exchanged, manufactured, disseminated, and discussed. Perhaps in some small way this blog will help to overturn hierarchies of meaning, understanding, and social (economic) relations as they continue to be (re)produced and (re)defined in the North Atlantic.
A former high school principal and teacher, Lisa Arrastía is a candidate for the PhD in American Studies at University of Minnesota where she also teaches in the School of Social Work's Social Justice Minor. Her research interests include race, gender, and the liberal itineraries of whiteness.
*Gaetano Scarpetta, J. L. Houdebine, and Jacques Derrida "Interview: Jacques Derrida," Diacritics 2.4 (Winter 1972): 36.
