Roland Barthes - (Key Contemporary Thinkers) by Michael Moriarty (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Stanford University Press classic.

From the Back Cover

This book provides a lively introduction to the work of Roland Barthes, one of the twentieth century's most important literary and cultural theorists. The book covers all aspects of Barthes's writings including his work on literary theory, mass communications, the theatre and politics. Moriarty argues that Barthes's writing must not be seen as an unchanging body of thought, and that we should study his ideas in the contexts within which they were formulated, debated and developed.

Review Quotes

'Moriarty's considerable achievement in this book is to provide asustained focus on the forms and functions of the politics ofBarthes's writing ... Moriarty's account will guide and illuminatethe readings of newcomers to his work as well as enhancing andenriching the rereadings of those who already know Barthes.'
Ann Jefferson, New College, Oxford

'A lucid and detailed account of the range of Barthes'swork.'
French Studies

'Michael Moriarty's study is, I believe, excellent news for theundergraduate interested in Barthes. Though not specifically onliterary theory, it will prove to be a comprehensive account ofBarthes' importance to this discipline.' Modern and ContemporaryFrance

About the Author

Michael Moriarty is also the author of Taste and Ideology in Seventeenth-Century France, (Cambridge University Press, 1988).