Mythologies is the title of a book by Roland Barthes (ISBN 0374521506), published in 1957. It is a collection of essays examining the tendency of contemporary social value systems to create modern myths. Barthes also looks at the semiology of the process of myth creation, updating Ferdinand de Saussure's system of sign analysis by adding a second level where signs are elevated to the level of myth. It is considered to be a key antecedent of cultural studies. Roland Barthes (November 12, 1915 – March 25, 1980) was a French literary critic, literary and social theorist, philosopher and semiotician. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Semiotics (also spelled Semeiotics) is the study of signs and sign systems. ... Process (lat. ... Saussure Ferdinand de Saussure (November 26, 1857 - February 22, 1913) was a Swiss linguist. ... Sign can denote any of the following: Look up sign on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An analysis is a critical evaluation, usually made by breaking a subject (either material or intellectual) down into its constituent parts, then describing the parts and their relationship to the whole. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Mythology. ... Cultural studies combines sociology, literary theory, film/video studies, and cultural anthropology to study cultural phenomena in industrial societies. ...

The work of Claude Lévi-Strauss should also be considered in this context. Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (born November 28, 1908) is a French anthropologist who became one of the twentieth centurys greatest intellectuals by developing structuralism as a method of understanding human society and culture. ...