Jacques Derrida (July 15, 1930 - October 8, 2004) Derrida was one of the leading philosophers in the creation of the idea of deconstruction, a term that is now commonly used in everyday vernacular. Derrida stressed the idea of figuring out what is not said instead of just looking at what is. According to Derrida, deconstruction is not a method of reading texts, but rather something that is in the text itself; a natural occurrence. While I have studied Derrida from the realm of communication studies, he is renowned in linguistics and literary theory. One of the most recent works on Derrida is a film entitled Derrida that follows him around and gives the viewers a chance to see Derrida among his family and in his personal life. The film makers got a chance to ask him about his work, and he answered most of the questions. It is also a chance to catch some of this prolific thinker's ramblings on film whereas otherwise we may never have had those specific insights into his mind. While there have been several negative reviews of the film, I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's fragmented, but is there any other way this man could be shown? There are many web pages on Derrida, here is just one that I enjoy (be careful if you're at work, the sound on the page is very interesting).

Jean Baudrillard (July 29, 1929 - ) As one of my professors once said, sometime you need to read something that will blow your head off. If you feel like that is where you are in your life, read some Baudrillard. He's written about terrorism, commodification, Marx, simulation, "reality," you name it, he's probably written something about it. My favorite Baudrillard reading is Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism). When I began reading Simulacra and Simulation, I wanted to bang my head against a brick wall:"What do you mean, nothing is real?? You're a liar, stupid Baudrillard!" However, after talking to several people about my reoccurring headache I found out that feeling frustrated and angry is normal the first time you read Baudrillard. As soon as I figured it out, Baudrillard became almost like a mental puzzle, a challenge. What also helped was finding Douglas Kellner, who wrote criticisms of Baudrillard and expressed, in published articles and books, the very same feelings I was having. Still, the idea that all we see and experience now is just a simulation is a little freaky . . .

Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 - June 26, 1984) Okay, considering that one of the primary people who will read this web page is an authority on Foucault, I feel somewhat inadequate providing any summary whatsoever about this man. I do recommend, however, checking out this page if you are looking for a lot of information on Foucault. Very short and not very detailed summary: Foucault explored the aspects of power relations in societies. Here is something that helped me when learning about Foucault -- stop thinking of power relations as a hierarchy or a pyramid and think of it as a web. Power can be always transferred from one person to another; there are points when a worker bee will be more powerful than a CEO, it's just that the situation where that power relation takes place may not be as important as the situation where the CEO has power over the worker bee. But really, look here.

Leon Festinger (May 8, 1919 - February 11, 1989) Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance has always been my favorite communication theory. I'm not sure why, maybe because it just makes sense. Basically the theory says that we believe things that are consistent with our current beliefs, emotions, values or attitudes so as to minimize the dissonance between them. Pretty simple, right? That's what I thought, and that's why he's on this list.

Judith Butler (1956 - ) Here's another person who will blow your mind. Ever want to read long, complex sentences and question everything that you've ever believed about sex and gender? If so, pick something written by Butler and you'll be set.