intro to presentation (...)

John Sallis, in _Chorology_ begins his discussion of the Chora by focusing on the opening of Timaeus. It begins, he says, with counting. EXCERPT. Similarly, my primary task in preparing for this oral examination has been to figure out what to "count" and what not to count. After reading through Derrida, Ulmer, Kristeva, and Rickert's conceptions of the Chora, I have drawn out common language in their discourses and in doing so I have tried to create a network of key terms. These key terms will be, for the purposes of my argument, analogous to those guests whom Socrates counts as present in the dialogue--and as such, they will serve as fillers for the absent guest--the Chora. In other words, I will use the work of Derrida, Ulmer, Rickert and Plato as proximal referents to the Chora. Ultimately I hope that these key terms will offer a way in, that they will offer suggestions for how the absent Chora might be made present in the composition classroom.