{"product_id":"writing-degree-zero-9780374532352","title":"Writing Degree Zero","description":"\u003cp\u003eIs there any such thing as revolutionary literature? Can literature, in fact, be political at all? These are the questions Roland Barthes addresses in \u003ci\u003eWriting Degree Zero\u003c\/i\u003e, his first published book and a landmark in his oeuvre. The debate had engaged the European literary community since the 1930s; with this fierce manifesto, Barthes challenged the notion of literature's obligation to be socially committed. Yes, Barthes allows, the writer has a political and ethical responsibility. But the history of French literature shows that the writer has often failed to meet it--and from Barthes's perspective, literature is committed to little more than the myth of itself. Expert and uncompromising, \u003ci\u003eWriting Degree Zero\u003c\/i\u003e introduced the themes that would soon establish Barthes as one of the leading voices in literary criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoland Barthes was born in 1915. A French literary theorist, philosopher, and critic, he influenced the development of various schools of theory, including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, and post-structuralism. He died in 1980.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hill \u0026 Wang","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50725292802322,"sku":"9780374532352","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c43bcd73-878d-46dd-901b-6146c8f31ad8.jpg?v=1734823980","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/writing-degree-zero-9780374532352","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}