Yue Zhuo
Shanghai University, College of Liberal Arts, Faculty Member
En 1954, Barthes baptise Robbe-Grillet « l’écrivain de la vision pure » et voit dans ses premiers romans un prototype du cinéma idéal, mais il montre une grande réserve lorsque le romancier entame ses expériences cinématographiques.... more
En 1954, Barthes baptise Robbe-Grillet « l’écrivain de la vision pure » et voit dans ses premiers romans un prototype du cinéma idéal, mais il montre une grande réserve lorsque le romancier entame ses expériences cinématographiques. Quelques décennies plus tard, Jean-Philippe Toussaint réactualise la tension entre littérature et écran et défend un retour à « l’écriture visuelle ». Cet article a pour objectif d’étudier les configurations de l’apparition du visuel, l’effet-cinéma et la question des fantasmes chez ces trois auteurs. L’intérêt est également de souligner la proximité de certains de leurs imaginaires ainsi que les jeux sous-entendus de leurs positions.
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This essay links Barthes’ late development on the Neutral in his 1978 Collège de France lecture course to his early reflections on the ‘white’ or ‘neutral’ writing by looking at lesser-known materials: articles published in the sanatorial... more
This essay links Barthes’ late development on the Neutral in his 1978 Collège de France lecture course to his early reflections on the ‘white’ or ‘neutral’ writing by looking at lesser-known materials: articles published in the sanatorial student journal Existences (1942–4), and in the newspaper Combat (1947–51), as well as how these pieces were integrated into his first book, Writing Degree Zero (1953). I show that Barthes’ first approaches to the ‘neutral’, under the spell of Sartre’s theory of committed literature, both ‘consents’ to the idea of the political responsibility of literature and rejects it, creating a third, crosswise notion of writing that prefigures the recalcitrant force of the Neutral. By exploring the complexities of these early pieces, I argue that some of the unsolved issues will reappear in the Collège de France lecture course, notably the figure of ‘aporia’, and I discuss the ethical implications of this ‘impossibility’.
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All rights reserved. The posted version is an author-created version of the article.
For an institutional access to the article, please click on the title of the article, then doc.org, to arrive at Sage Journals.
All rights reserved. The posted version is an author-created version of the article.
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A partir d’un fragment inédit de Roland Barthes par Roland Barthes intitulé « La vie comme texte », cet article examine l’émergence et le développement de la notion de la « biographématique » (la double question de l’écriture de vie et de... more
A partir d’un fragment inédit de Roland Barthes par Roland Barthes intitulé « La vie comme texte », cet article examine l’émergence et le développement de la notion de la « biographématique » (la double question de l’écriture de vie et de la vie comme écriture » dans l’enseignement du dernier Barthes (1973 à 1980). Quel est le rapport entre la « biographémaique » et ce que Barthes appelle le « retour à l’auteur » ? Et quel est le destin d’un désir « autobiographique » qui ne se compose que de « traits » et de fragments?
Starting from an unpublished fragment of Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes intitled "Life as Text," This article examines the emergence and the development of the notion of "biographématique" (the double question of writing of life and life as writing) in the teaching of late Barthes (1973-1980). How does the “biograhématique” relate to what Barthes calls the “return to the author”? And what would the “autobiographical” desire become when it is only composed of “traits” and fragments?
Starting from an unpublished fragment of Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes intitled "Life as Text," This article examines the emergence and the development of the notion of "biographématique" (the double question of writing of life and life as writing) in the teaching of late Barthes (1973-1980). How does the “biograhématique” relate to what Barthes calls the “return to the author”? And what would the “autobiographical” desire become when it is only composed of “traits” and fragments?
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This article first provides an exegesis on “Che cos’è la poesia?,” focusing on Derrida’s enigmatic definition of poetry as that which exhorts one to “learn [it] by heart.” It then discusses Derrida’s conceptions of poetic origin,... more
This article first provides an exegesis on “Che cos’è la poesia?,” focusing on Derrida’s enigmatic definition of poetry as that which exhorts one to “learn [it] by heart.” It then discusses Derrida’s conceptions of poetic origin, exploring notably a tension between an interior, largely Heiddeggerian understanding of poetry, and a de Manian focus on exterior hypomnesis (the making-technical of memory). The third part showcases Derrida’s readings of poetry (Valéry, Ponge, Celan) in order to further consider his critique of interiority and his taste for the literal, the “proper” and the allegorical when it comes to poetry.
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The Neutral is a late concept which Barthes developed during his 1978 lecture course at the College de France. Defined as a stance of 'retreat' or 'oscillation' that dodges or 'baffles paradigm' (binary oppositions), it has never been... more
The Neutral is a late concept which Barthes developed during his 1978 lecture course at the College de France. Defined as a stance of 'retreat' or 'oscillation' that dodges or 'baffles paradigm' (binary oppositions), it has never been referred to as directly associated with questions of gender and sexuality. Yet its sexual undertones can be strongly felt in many of Barthes's works. Given Barthes's reticence on his own gay sexuality and the interest the discovery of his posthumous autobiographical fragments/diaries sparked in the Feminist and Queer communities, it seems useful to revisit some of his own writings in order to better understand his implied views on sexual difference, homosexuality and identity politics. S/Z, Barthes's seminal analysis of Balzac's short story Sarrasine, emerges as a key text foretelling the figure of the Neutral, translating at the same time the relation between Barthes's own sexuality and work. Some fifty years after the 'Structuralist Controversy' at Johns Hopkins University, how can we read this exemplary (post)structuralist analysis in a way that re-inscribes the central question of sexuality and gender in-difference? We propose a hospitable rereading of S/Z that will open dialogues between Queer Studies and various branches of literary studies.
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La réticence de Barthes à l’égard de la Chine populaire, exprimée dans son célèbre article de 1974, « Alors, la Chine ? », fut longtemps l’objet de discussions et de reproches. Se pourrait-il qu’il y ait laissé entendre la plupart de ses... more
La réticence de Barthes à l’égard de la Chine populaire, exprimée dans son célèbre article de 1974, « Alors, la Chine ? », fut longtemps l’objet de discussions et de reproches. Se pourrait-il qu’il y ait laissé entendre la plupart de ses réserves sur le régime de Mao, de manière habile et oblique ? Cet article examine ses Carnets de voyage en Chine et une série de notes du séminaire de 1974 afin d’interroger les conditions (im) possibles de son discours sur la Chine.
The reservations about Mao’s China Barthes expressed in his famous 1974 article “So, what about China ?” used to generate a lot of discussions and criticism. But what if he expressed most of his reservations about Mao’s regime in this text, in a clever and indirect way ? This article examines Barthes’s posthumously published notebooks Travels in China, along with some notes from his 1974 course, in order to question the (im)possible conditions of his stand on China.
The reservations about Mao’s China Barthes expressed in his famous 1974 article “So, what about China ?” used to generate a lot of discussions and criticism. But what if he expressed most of his reservations about Mao’s regime in this text, in a clever and indirect way ? This article examines Barthes’s posthumously published notebooks Travels in China, along with some notes from his 1974 course, in order to question the (im)possible conditions of his stand on China.
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Review of Andy Stafford, Roland Barthes (London: Reaktion Books, ‘Critical Lives’ series, 2015). 192 pp. £11.99.