Understanding Barthes, Understanding Modernism

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Understanding Barthes, Understanding Modernism is a general assessment of the modern literary and philosophical contributions of Roland Barthes. The first part of the volume focuses on work published prior to Barthes's death in 1980 covering the major periods of his development from Writing Degree Zero (1953) to Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography (1980). The second part focuses both on the posthumously published material and the legacies of his work after his death in 1980. This later work has attracted attention, for example, in conjunction with notions of the neutral, gay writing, and critiques of everyday life. The third part is devoted to some of the critical vocabulary of Barthes in both the work he published during his lifetime, and that which was published posthumously.

Reviews

Understanding Barthes, Understanding Modernism is a further testament to the enduring insistence of the writing and thought of Roland Barthes. Mapping Barthes' brilliance across the inevitably multiple and heterogeneous constellation of his interventions, exploring and extending his legacies, and, in superbly Barthesian style, offering punctual insights into the "conceptual inventory' generated by his writing, the volume succeeds in making of the reading of Barthes' work a paradoxical experience of newness and return. The volume will be required reading for any who seek to understand Barthes' vital contribution to his time and ours. * Patrick ffrench, Professor of French, Kings College London, UK *
An extremely stimulating collection by a transatlantic group of distinguished contributors, this volume combines very rich essays on many aspects of Barthes work, from the earliest to the latest, with useful summaries of key ideas. Any student of Roland Barthes will find things of interest here. * Jonathan Culler, Class of 1916 Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Emeritus, Cornell University, USA *
Reading Barthes means thinking about modernity in all its forms. Providing a panoramic account of Barthess engagement with literature, aesthetics, popular culture, and philosophy, the essays in this collection illuminate our understanding of Barthess multi-faceted thought and show how his insights continue to resonate and to inform inquiry across disciplinary boundaries. * Lucy OMeara, Senior Lecturer in French, University of Kent, UK, and General Editor, Modern Language Review *

Author Bio

Jeffrey R. Di Leo is Professor of English and Philosophy and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Houston, Victoria, USA. He is editor and founder of the critical theory journal symploke, editor and publisher of the American Book Review, and Executive Director of the Society for Critical Exchange. He has written, edited, or co-edited twenty-five books including the Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Theory (2019). Zahi Zalloua is the Cushing Eells Professor of Philosophy and Literature and a professor of French and Interdisciplinary Studies at Whitman College, USA, and Editor of The Comparatist. He is the author of five books, including iek on Race: Toward an Anti- Racist Future (2020), Theorys Autoimmunity: Skepticism, Literature, and Philosophy (2018), and Continental Philosophy and the Palestinian Question: Beyond the Jew and the Greek (2017). He has edited volumes and special journal issues on globalization, literary theory, ethical criticism, and trauma studies.