This is an anthology addressing the question of maternal uncertainty in the writings of Jaques Derrida. One of the pivotal motifs underwriting his work is the deconstructive questioning of foundations, and in this volume of collected essays, the certainty surrounding maternal identity is challenged. Contributions address the conceptual binary between physis and techne, alongside the historical formations and political genealogies that derive from it. The successful submissions will broach the question of foundation and of the opposed orders of nature, law and technology by focusing on the figure of the mother and reflecting upon the place she holds in philosophical, political and juridical discourses. Tied to the evidence of the natural fact of birth, the mother is on the side of nature and sensory certainty over and against the witnessing father, who is rushed into the space of law, testimony, alliance and friendship. Genealogical schemas and filiations remain assured on the grounds of the mother’s irreplaceability and uniqueness. What happens then if the mother and everything associated with her - mother tongue, motherland - do not furnish any factual proof and are not self-evident, but are instead sites of substitution, replaceability and even technical supplementarity? This book will address these questions departing from Derrida’s writings on this topic, and will explore issues of revolution, testimony and technicity, translation, skepticism, and friendship.

Submissions should be between 6000 and 9000 words in length, conform to accepted style for notes and bibliographies (Chicago, MLA, APA), and be sent to jolanbogdan@yahoo.com by April 15, 2013. Questions and abstracts are encouraged.