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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

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The Essay Podcast

The Essay

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

The Essay: Signs and Mythologies - The Significance of Roland Barthes

The Essay: Signs and Mythologies - The Significance of Roland Barthes: Episode 4: Andrew Gallix

Signs and Mythologies - The Significance of Roland Barthes

Episode 4

Episode 4: Andrew Gallix

Andrew Gallix

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Magazine editor Andrew Gallix reflects on what Barthes meant by 'the death of the author'.

Parisian magazine editor Andrew Gallix reflects on what Barthes meant by 'the death of the author'.

An encounter as a teenager with Roland Barthes and an orange moped inspired the magazine editor Andrew Gallix, who now teaches at the Sorbonne, with a fascination for the ideas of the great French theorist. In this week of essays celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth, Andrew reflects on what Barthes meant by 'The Death of the Author'.
Across the week five authors write about Barthes' significance to them and discuss the influence the maverick cultural philosopher has had upon their own work. Over the week they create a picture of a literary figure whose writing was fun, accessible and is still deeply influential on the way we look at the world. Barthes's literary output was not only prolific, but also eclectic. During the course of his life his thinking influenced the development of theories of structuralism, semiotics, social theory, design, anthropology and post structuralism. A powerful blast of fresh air in post war cultural thought, his carefully argued, accessible and sometimes mischievous examinations of philosophical, cultural and social ideas continue to influence contemporary writers and thinkers.
An eclectic group of essayists celebrate the range of influence his writing has had. Andrew Hussey examines Barthes' impact in Europe in the 1960s. Other essayists over the week include design historian Penny Sparke, film journalist Nick James, the editor of 3 A.M. Magazine and teacher at the Sorbonne in Paris, Andrew Gallix, and cultural historian Michael Wood.


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Authors explain Roland Barthes's significance to them and his influence on their work

Series in which authors explain Roland Barthes's significance to them and the influence the maverick philosopher has had on their own work

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Signs and Mythologies - The Significance of Roland Barthes

Episode 4: Andrew Gallix

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