Product Description: This collection reflects the French influence on literary and representational theory which has been predominant in recent years. It contains stimulating essays on the fiction of Perault, Borges, James, Eco and Tournier. These are complemented by theoretical essays on power and representation which provide powerful critiques of Barthes, Derrida, Deleuze and Marin, writers central to the contemporary debate...read more

Product Description: The cultural battle known as the Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns served as a sly cover for more deeply opposed views about the value of literature and the arts. One of the most public controversies of early modern Europe, the Quarrel has most often been depicted as pitting antiquarian conservatives against the insurgent critics of established authority...read more

Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was a major French writer, literary theorist and critic of French culture and society. His classic works include Mythologies and Camera Lucida. This work in the Barthes canon offers a discussion of the language of literary criticism.

This is a brilliant discussion of the language of literary criticism and a key work in the Barthes canon. It is a cultural and intellectual challenge to those who believe in the clarity, flexibility and neutrality of language, couched in Barthes' own inimitable and provocative style.

On the eve of World War II, a group of men met regularly in the back room of the Paris bookstore to discuss contemporary society. However diverse their views and interests, they shared a primary intent: to counter anarchistic individualism of the Surrealists by seeking to understand how close knit communities formed. To this end, they propose the notion of a "sacred sociology" which would explore these phenomenons that draw individuals together in voluntary communion: brotherhood, secret societies, churches and armies. Now translated into English for the first time, 'The College of Sociology' brings together all the relevant text produced by members- lectures, articles, letters and notes- that set each text within its cultural and political context.

Product Description: Originally published in 1982, this is an anthology of studies by French literary theorists representing the most significant contributions to the field made in France in the preceding fifteen years. The essays were published here in English for the first time and cover, among other topics, the methodology of literary studies, the specifics of literary creation, the different facets and levels of the text, and the issues raised by the classification of literature into genres and periods...read more

Product Description: Originally published in 1982, this is an anthology of studies by French literary theorists representing the most significant contributions to the field made in France in the preceding fifteen years. The essays were published here in English for the first time and cover, among other topics, the methodology of literary studies, the specifics of literary creation, the different facets and levels of the text, and the issues raised by the classification of literature into genres and periods...read more