The Rhizome and Différance: Deleuze, Derrida, and the Question of Literature.

The article examines the evolving definition of literature and the challenges faced by English departments in the United States, as discussed in John Guillory's work, "Professing Criticism: Essays on the Organization of Literary Study." It highlights Guillory's historicist perspective, which argues that literature has shifted from a broad understanding of written works to a more restricted focus on poetry, drama, and fiction since the late eighteenth century. The author critiques Guillory's view of literature as an object of study, advocating instead for a conception of literature as a dynamic force that generates new possibilities for life, drawing on the ideas of philosophers Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze. Ultimately, the article posits that literature should be seen as an event that demands responses rather than merely an object of knowledge. [Extracted from the article]