Nothing could be less professorial than Barthes' first course at the College de France: his fantasmatic method yields a daringly idiosyncratic exploration of "idiorrhythmy," the spaces and rhythms of life, and of ways of balancing community and individuality, from medieval anchorite monks and Robinson Crusoe to the sanatorium of The Magic Mountain. -- Jonathan Culler, Cornell University

This is Barthes at his inventive and idiosyncratic best: a brilliant and suggestive reader, both of literary texts and of the social, psychic, and affective spaces of everyday life. -- Diana Knight, University of Nottingham

Roland Barthes (1915--1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His books include The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the College de France (1978--1979 and 1979--1980); The Neutral; Mythologies; S/Z; A Lover's Discourse; and Camera Lucida. Barthes's work has been central to the delineation and development of numerous schools of theory, including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology, and post-structuralism. Kate Briggs is the translator of Roland Barthes's The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the College de France (1978--1979 and 1979--1980).

ForewordPrefaceTranslator's PrefaceSession of January 12INTRODUCTIONMethod? (Method. Culture) -- Fantasy -- My fantasy: idiorrhythmy -- MonarchismSession of January 19INTRODUCTION (continued)Works -- Greek network -- TraitsAKEDIA / AKEDIASession of January 26ANACHORESIS / ANACHORESISHistorically -- MetaphoricallyANIMAUX / ANIMALS1. Robinson Crusoe (Phases. History) -- 2. AnachoritesATHOS / ATHOSHistory -- SpaceSession of February 2ATHOS / ATHOS (continued)Way of Life -- Ownership -- PowerAUTARCHIE / AUTARKYBANC / SCHOOLBEGUINAGES / BEGUINAGESHistory -- Space -- Way of Life -- Socio-Economics -- Power -- ConclusionSession of February 9BUREAUCRATIE / BUREAUCRACYCAUSE / CAUSEChristianity -- Other sorts of Telos -- Bion -- HomeostasisCHAMBRE / ROOM1. The total spaceSession of February 16CHAMBRE / ROOM (continued)2. The room becomes isolated within the house -- 3. The room loses its association with the couple ? Cella -- The MagnificenzaCHEF / CHIEFSession of March 2CLOTURE / ENCLOSUREFunctions (Protection. Definition) -- Extreme-experienceCOLONIE D'ANACHORETES / COLONY OF ANACHORITES1. Qumran sect -- 2. Monks of Nitria -- 3. Carthusians -- 4. The Solitaires of Port-RoyalSession of March 9COUPLAGE / PAIRING1. Principle of pairing -- 2. Two examples of strong pairing (Lausaic HistoryDISTANCE / DISTANCEDOMESTIQUES / SERVANTS1. Need = Desire -- 2. Need ? DesireSession of March 16ECOUTE / HEARINGTerritory and hearing -- Repression and hearingEPONGE / SPONGEEVENEMENT / EVENTFLEURS / FLOWERSIDYLLIQUE / IDYLLSession of March 23MARGINALITES / MARGINALITIESFirst margin: coenobitism -- Second margin: idiorrhythmyMONOSIS / MONOSISOne / Two -- The desire for Two -- In praise of OneNOMS / NAMESNicknamesSession of March 30NOMS / NAMES (continued)Caritatism -- No NameNOURRITURE / FOOD1. Rhythms -- 2. The foods themselves (the divisions of the forbidden: what's forbidden / what's tolerated). The connotations of foodSession of April 20PROXEMIE / PROXEMICSThe notion -- The lamp -- The bedRECTANGLE / RECTANGLECivilization of the rectangle -- The frame -- Subversions?REGLE / RULERegula -- Territory -- Rule and Custom -- Rule and LawSession of April 27SALETE / DIRTINESSNoteworthy -- Meaning -- TactXENITIA / XENITIASemantic network -- False image -- Dereality -- ConclusionSession of May 4UTOPIE / UTOPIABUT WHAT ABOUT METHOD?1. Traits. Figures. Boxes -- 2. Classification -- 3. Digression -- 4. Opening a dossier -- 5. The supporting-textWHAT IS IT TO HOLD FORTH?RESEARCH ON INVESTED SPEECHSeminarSession of January 12HOLDING FORTH "SoSession of March 23CHARLUS-DISCOURSE1. Kinetics -- 2. TriggersSession of March 30CHARLUS-DISCOURSE (continued)3. Allocutionary authority (Andromache. Charlus-Discourse) -- 4. Forces ("Psychology." "Psychoanalysis." Intensities) -- To take my leave and fix a new appointmentSUMMARYNOTESGLOSSARY OF GREEK TERMSBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX NOMINUMINDEX RERUM