Afterword: Respect for Derrida in/and Africa

The Afterword focuses on one of the most striking features of the essays included in this new anthology: the respect for both Derrida and Africa. It asks: how is one to make sense of the respect that permeates the work of these scholars? In order to address this topic, the Afterword focuses not only on the way Derrida himself addresses the topic of respect, it also aims at uncovering the way the essays themselves impart this respect. The overall point of such a short coda is not to provide an exhaustive analysis of respect or expose how respectful these scholars are, but to reveal the ethical imperative that always takes place and perhaps should always take place when either (or both) topic(s) (Derrida and/or Africa) is put forward for discussion.