Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov (1939-2017) was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He studied philosophy at the University of Sofia and moved to Paris in 1963. A student of Roland Barthes, he initially aligned himself with the tradition of formalism and the structuralist movement. The 1980s marked a radical shift in his work, characterized by his engagement with the Enlightenment. His research focused on racism, colonialism, ethnocentrism, and the quest for a new humanism. His work intersects history, anthropology, political philosophy, and literary theory. He was an honorary research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and was awarded by the French Academy for his entire body of work. He published numerous texts on literary theory, the history of ideas, and the analysis of cultural phenomena. His works include: "Theorie de la litterature, textes des formalistes russes," Seuil, 1966 (Greek edition "Θεωρία λογοτεχνίας: Κείμενα των Ρώσων φορμαλιστών," Οδυσσέας, 1995), "Litterature et signification," Larousse, 1967, "Introduction a la litterature fantastique," Seuil, 1970 (Greek edition "Εισαγωγή στη φανταστική λογοτεχνία," Οδυσσέας, 1991), "Poetique de la prose," Seuil 1971 (Greek edition "Ποιητικη," Γνώση, 1989), "Qu’est-ce que le structuralisme?," Seuil, 1977, "Symbolisme et interpretation," Seuil, 1978, "La Conquete de l'Amerique, la question de l'autre," Seuil, 1982 (Greek edition "Η κατάκτηση της Αμερικής: Το πρόβλημα του Άλλου," Νήσος, 2004), "Recits azteques de la conquete" (with Georges Baudot), Seuil, 1983, "Critique de la critique," Seuil, 1984 (Greek edition "Κριτική της κριτικής," translated by Γιάννης Κιουρτσάκης, Πόλις, 1994), "Nous et les autres," Seuil, 1989, "Face a l’extreme," Seuil, 1991 (Greek edition "Απέναντι στο ακραίο," translated by Βασίλης Τομανάς, Νησίδες, 2002), "Les Morales de l’histoire," Grasset, 1991, "L’Homme depayse," Seuil, 1996 (Greek edition "Ο εκπατρισμένος," translated by Οντέτ Βαρών-Βασάρ, Πόλις, 1999), "Benjamin Constant: la passion democratique," Hachette, 1997, "Le Jardin imparfait: la pensee humaniste en France," Grasset, 1998, "Eloge du quotidien," Adam Biro, 1998, "La Fragilite du bien: le sauvetage des Juifs bulgares" (editor), Le Grand Livre du Mois, 1999, "Memoire du mal, tentation du bien," Robert Laffont, 2000 (Greek edition "Μνήμη του κακού, πειρασμός του καλού," Εστία, 2003), "Le nouveau desordre mondial. Reflexions d’un europeen," Robert Laffont, 2003 (Greek edition "Η νέα διεθνής αταξία: στοχασμοί ενός Ευρωπαίου," Εστία, 2004), "Les Aventuriers de l'absolu," Robert Laffont, 2006, "L'Esprit des Lumieres," Robert Laffont, 2006, "La Litterature en peril: Tzvetan Todorov evoque son passe, personnel et intellectuel," Flammarion, 2007 (Greek edition "Η λογοτεχνία σε κίνδυνο," Πόλις, 2013), "La Peur des barbares: Au-dela du choc des civilisations," 2008 (Greek edition "Ο φόβος των βαρβάρων: Πέρα από τη σύγκρουση των πολιτισμών," Πόλις, 2009), "L' Experience totalitaire. La signature humaine," 2010, "Goya a l'ombre des Lumieres," 2011, "Les Ennemis intimes de la democratie," 2012 (Greek edition "Οι εσωτερικοί εχθροί της δημοκρατίας," Πατάκης, 2013), "La Peinture des Lumieres," 2014, "Insoumis," 2015. He passed away in Paris on February 7, 2017, at the age of 77.