Find in Library

In my article I propose to go back to Barthes and in particular to Le Plaisir du Texte (1973), which signals an epistemological turn towards post-structuralism in his work. Barthes emphasizes the impact of the text’s formal/aural features and the digressions (dérives) these features enable; he insists also on his anti-system standing against academy and institutionalised criticism. I associate his approaches to literature with recent positions in the English-speaking world, namely by M. H. Abrams (2012) and Rita Felski (2008). In different ways both authors call attention to the power(s) of the literary text and its reading. I conclude with a few words on our interdisciplinary project in Narrative Medicine, which will be placed under the aegis of Roland Barthes.