Roland Barthes
| Roland Gérard Barthes | |
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| Born |
12 November 1915 Cherbourg, France |
| Died | 26 March 1980 (aged 64) Paris, France |
| Alma mater | University of Paris (MA, 1941) |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School |
Structuralism Semiotics Post-structuralism |
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Main interests
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Semiotics Literary theory Narratology Linguistics |
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Notable ideas
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Structural analysis of narratives Death of the author Writing degree zero Effect of reality |
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Influenced
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| Signature | |
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Roland Gérard Barthes (/bɑːrt/;French: [ʁɔlɑ̃ baʁt]; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, social theory, design theory, anthropology and post-structuralism.
Roland Barthes was born on 12 November 1915 in the town of Cherbourg in Normandy. His father, naval officer Louis Barthes, was killed in a battle during World War I in the North Sea before Barthes' first birthday. His mother, Henriette Barthes, and his aunt and grandmother raised him in the village of Urt and the city of Bayonne. When Barthes was eleven, his family moved to Paris, though his attachment to his provincial roots would remain strong throughout his life.
Barthes showed great promise as a student and spent the period from 1935 to 1939 at the Sorbonne, where he earned a license in classical letters. He was plagued by ill health throughout this period, suffering from tuberculosis, which often had to be treated in the isolation of sanatoria. His repeated physical breakdowns disrupted his academic career, affecting his studies and his ability to take qualifying examinations. They also exempted him from military service during World War II. While being kept out of the major French universities meant that he had to travel a great deal for teaching positions, Barthes later professed an intentional avoidance of major degree-awarding universities, and did so throughout his career.
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