Semiology had its birth with Saussure and the publication of his lecture notes by students in 1916, entitled Course in General Linguistics. Semiology was to be a general science of signs, of which linguistics would be one part. However, over time it has become clear that there exist no complex systems of symbols completely removed from language. Semioticians have recognized, then, that "linguistics is not a part of the general science of signs, but rather it is semiology which is a part of linguistics".

In this clearly written work, Barthes thus undertakes this task of semiolgy, under four main headings borrowed from structural anthropology (Claude Levi-Strauss) and clearly reliant on Saussure:

I. Language and Speech. (Saussure's langue and parole) II. Signified and Signifier. III. Syntagm and System. IV. Denotation and Connotation.

This book is written in a dense and terse style, and dates from 1964. For an introductory text, therefore, I would suggest instead Umberto Eco's "Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language". Yet for those who are set on studying Barthes, a very important figure in this field, then this book can be recommended.

This project was designed as an introductory text for Barthes' students. It assumes almost no prior knowledge of semiology or critical theory, and introduces the vocabulary of semiotics to the general reader. Barthes is one of the few theorists who writes without an extensive bibliography and notes. However, unlike his other books, Elements of Semiology, for ease of use and reference, includes an index and bibliography. Not exactly beach reading, but great for students of literature and cultural studies.

This book requires a bit of trust on the part of younger readers (like myself) because it makes references to things that happened in the1950's. The world in the year 2000 is a very different place. However, MYTHOLOGIES by Roland Barthes is all the more intriguing for that reason.

I found the essay and Wine and Milk quite engrossing. Equally intriguing were the ones on The Face of Garbo, Novels and Children, The Writer on Holiday, and Romans in Films. My favorite essay, however, was the one on Wrestling. I am not, nor have I ever been a wrestling fan. Perhaps I felt enlightened when I read the essay, especially when I compared it to wrestling today. Even though Roland Barthes brings up the fact, and acknowledges that French wrestling is different from American wrestling (remember, he's talking about the 50's and 60's), The differences have in my estimation only grown more noticeable. And yet the one thing that remains the same is that WRESTLING IS NOT A SPORT...it is a SPECTACLE. Through this essay I was able to add a new word to my French vocabulary... La Barbaque... meaning stinking meat. A term I wouldn't have associated, before reading Barthes, with wrestling.

If you're an essay enthusiast, and enjoy reading about our immediate past, MYTHOLOGIES may be of interest to you.

I agree with everything that "ladjoolasse@yahoo.com" said, except when he said "I'm French", because I'm not. However I read this book in French, several times over. It's amazing that commentary so attached to 1950's icons has remained so relevant; obviously the structures haven't changed much. This book permanently affected the way I see things, particularly in the media. It should be required reading for all media consumers, and that's pretty much everyone.

At the same time, "Mythologies" offers an object lesson in the bond between language and culture. Much of Barthes' appeal lies in his tongue-in-cheek linguistic play, and that's something no translator could capture completely. This book alone is a good enough reason to learn French.

Ths book was written by an ardent Maoist in the heady days in which all of Parisian intellectual circles were Maoist. It is now a top read by anyone who comes into contact with the Maoist Literature Association (known as the MLA). Cultural Studies is an extension of Mao's Cultural Revolution.

As with Mao, the idea was to change the meaning of virtually everything, taking the mandarin intellectual class, and moving them to the fringes of society, and taking the marginal farmers and moving them into the universities. In a similar way, Barthes takes marginal cultural activity such as professional wrestling, and moves it to the center of cultural discourse, while he takes Shakespeare, and the canon, and moves it to Manchuria.

It's a heady experiment. In China, the result led to a staggered economy, massive famines, and the death of the entire intellectual class. In the west, it has mostly remained a literary curiosity, but one with a curious history.

Barthes often praised the Maoists, and even travelled to China with other members of Tel Quel (Philippe Sollers and Julia Kristeva were fellow travellers, and they learned Chinese in order to translate Mao's poems into French). This book must be read in tandem with Simone de Beauvoir's book The Long March (about Mao's Revolution) and Julia Kristeva's Chinese Women, in order to give it a historical and intellectual context.