Barthes' 'Mythologies' Today Readings of Contemporary Culture [Paperback]

This is Barthes seminal text reimagined in a contemporary context by contemporary academics. Through a revisiting of Mythologies, a key text in cultural and media studies, this volume explores the value these disciplines can add to an understanding of contemporary society and culture. Leading academics in media, English, education, and cultural studies here are tasked with identifying the new mythologies some fifty or so years on from Barthes original interventions. The contributions in this volume, then, are readings of contemporary culture, each engaging with a cultural event, practice, or text as mythological. These readings are then contextualized by an introduction which reflects on the how of these engaging responses and an essay at the back of the book which replaces Myth Todaywith a reflection on the contemporary provenance of both Barthes and his most famous book. Thus the book is at least two things at once whichever way you look: a new Mythologies and a book about Barthes legacy, an exploration of the place of theory in critical writing, and a book about contemporary culture.

Part I: Fables of Reconstructions 1. Fables of Reconstructions Julian McDougall Part II: Mythologies 2.: The Face of Assange Oscar Gomez 3. The X Factor Tim Wall 4. Tastes of Paradise: The Fair Trade Myth Jenni Ramone5. Batgirl Will Brooker 6. Education as Mythology Nick Peim 7. Sherlocks for the Twenty-First Century Matt Hills8. Myths of the Digital Age Gabriel Menotti andAntonio Fernandez-VicenteChapter 9: The Zombie Walk Julia Round 10. The Mythologised Accretions of Press Freedom Julian Petley11. In Search of Higgs Boson Angia Voela 12. The Cultural Politics of Being a Knob Ben Pitcher 13. lS