REFLECTING SCHOOLS

REFLECTING SCHOOLS FRENCH THEORY: HOW FOUCAULT, DERRIDA, DELEUZE, & CO. TRANSFORMED THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE UNITED STATES BY FRAN�OIS CUSSET, TRANSLATED BY JEFF FORT MINNEAPOLIS: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS. 408 PAGES. $25.

If two mirrors are turned face-to-face, each will reflect the other's reflection of itself, and so on. Thus is generated (at least in theory) an image that resembles a tunnel going on forever-albeit to nowhere in particular. In practice, of course, there are limits to just how far this regress reaches. The mirrors have to be absolutely parallel, and any distortions on their surfaces ruin the effect. But even a glimpse of this virtual abyss can be …