Umberto Eco and the Open Text: Semiotics, Fiction, Popular Culture

by Peter Bondanella

Umberto Eco is known among academics for his literary and cultural theories, and to an enormous international audience through his novels The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. Peter Bondanella offers the first comprehensive study in English of Eco's works. In clear and accessible language, he traces the development of Eco's interests, from medieval aesthetics to semiotics to popular culture, and shows how Eco's own fiction grows out of his literary and cultural theories. Bondanella also provides a full bibliography of works by and about Eco, arguably the most famous Italian writer since Dante.

Genres: Theory

236 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 1997

About the author

Peter Bondanella (1943–2017) was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Italian, Comparative Literature, and Film Studies at Indiana University, United States.

Reviews

[Jordan Goings · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine compilation of essays, primarily about the relationship between authorial intent and the openness of the text