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A Discourse of De-enlightenment in Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Is Here? Gumhee Che (Chungbuk National University) The emphasis on rationality and reason may be construed as the main project of the Enlightenment, and the text Where Is Here? is a criticism of this Enlightenment search that blindly advertised order and logic. The text is designed to promote a discourse of de-enlightenment by deconstructing the transcendental values championed by the rational project and highlighting characters whom the system considers irrational and who can hardly be categorized as autonomous subjects. Legitimating the world of instinct and passion, the new breed of characters challenge the entire system of the rational ideology that doggedly distorts the way they see their own creative reality. To promote a temporal state in which instinct and reason almost coexist, the text blurs the boundary between fantasy and reality, serving to bring out the underlying interdependence between passion and de-enlightenment. Oates uses such strategies as de-enlightenment to break down the distinction between passion and reason, revealing that there is no such thing as perfect autonomy.