Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician whose 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. His books include The Preparation of the Novel: Lecture Courses and Seminars at the College de France (1978-1979 and 1979-1980); The Neutral: Lecture Course at the College de France (1977-1978); Mythologies; S/Z; A Lover's Discourse; and Camera Lucida. 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).