I Am the Missing Pages of the Text I Teach: Gadamer and Derrida on Teacher Authority

Abstract

In this essay, I am interested in the teaching authority that is enacted at the intersection ofthe teacher and the book. I am interested in the following questions: How is teaching authority related to the teacher's knowledge ofthe texts that are read in class? What does it mean for an instructor to take a position that is something less than all knowing about the texts he or she teaches? How might the knowledge that a classroom text offers be itself intertwined with teacher authority? The scenario that follows has put me on the scent of this authority/teacher/book problematic.