In contemplating the roles and responsibilities of intellectuals in the 21st century, the notion of "difference" is significant in at least two senses. First, work on the politics of difference allows us to consider the question "For whom does the intellectual speak?" in a fresh light. Second, we can ask: "To what extent, and in what ways, might our activities as intellectuals make a difference?" Thinkers such as Foucault, Kristeva, Lyotard, and Bauman (among many others) are helpful in addressing these questions. This paper sketches some of the key ideas of these thinkers and assesses their relevance for an understanding of intellectual life in contemporary tertiary education institutions.