Youth Escarpit spent his childhood and adolescence in
Gironde. At the age of eighteen (1936), he chose to study English, more by necessity and interest as he wanted to continue his studies. He finished his associate, graduate, and postgraduate studies ending with a "
Doctor of Literature" degree. He worked as a high-school teacher in
Arcachon ( Gironde ) from 1943 to 1945. As a specialist in
English literature, he is the author of some fifty books between
fiction and
sociological essays and novels .
Journalist Escarpit became known for his satirical short stories in
Le Monde and as a
literary critic for many magazines,
columnist of
Le Matin in 1983, then
Sud-Ouest.
Professor and sociologist After
World War II, he was Secretary General and Director of the French Institute of Latin America in
Mexico. Later he was an assistant professor of English and professor of comparative literature at the
Faculty of Arts of Bordeaux (1951–1970), and founder of the Sociology Center of Literature which opened in 1960 (later Institute of Literature and Art of Mass Techniques) . Escarpit served as the scientific director of the "International Dictionary of Literary Terms" Project (DITL V.2), ongoing project funded by the
International Comparative Literature Association continued from 1988 by
Jean-Marie Grassin. ===
Communication science=== In his own words:
"To measure the stakes of writing, one must understand what reading is, how to receive the text message. This is a strictly scientific approach." He published articles in the journal of the
University of Belgrade,
Filološki pregled, in 1963. His book
The sociology of literature () published in French in 1958, was translated into 23 languages. In 1965, he wrote, at the request of
UNESCO,
The Revolution of the book (). The book, translated into 20 languages, analyzes the phenomenon of the mass-market paperback book and the consequences of the arrival in the world of inexpensive books. He found that the book-problem must be studied as a problem of communication through writing. So, immersed in literature of "
communicology", he became one of the first scholars to introduce and promote in France the science of communication.
Career and recognition of CIS In 1960, he founded the "Centre for Sociology of Literary Facts" which became in 1965 the "Institute of Literature and Art Mass Techniques", and in 1978 "Science Lab for Information and Communication" (). This center would be recognized as the engine of the "School of Bordeaux," a leader in this discipline. In 1967, he was commissioned to create the "School of Bordeaux", which focused on social and socio-cultural entertainment, being the director of it from 1970 to 1975. In 1972, in co-operation with other writers, researchers, and academics, including Jean Meyriat and Roland Barthes, he created a
pressure group whose aim is to obtain academic recognition for Information and Communication Sciences. This leads to the creation of an Information Science and Communication Committee, which became the
French Society of Information Science and Communication (SFSIC). Escarpit became president of the University of Bordeaux, and Professor of Information Sciences and Communication between 1975 and 1978.
His research and his theory of information science and communication In 1976, he was a pioneer, at least in France, coming out with the "General Theory of Information Sciences and Communication". This study, which presents an overview of information science and communication for today remains an essential book for anyone interested in this field of science. It affirms the need to account for both phenomena of the information, so the documentation in general and those relating to communication. As he himself says: "For me, the information is the content of the communication, and the communication is the vehicle of information".
Political commitment Robert Escarpit was an activist in the
SFIO (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière) at the time of the
Popular Front. Engaged in the
French Resistance, he participated in 1945 in the fighting of the
Médoc with the
Carnot Brigrade. He was the editor of the
Le Canard enchaîné during the
Algerian war of independence. Follower of the
French Communist Party (PCF), Robert Escarpit eventually became member of the Aquitaine Regional Council (1986–1992) and councilor on the PCF lists. Escarpit was the co-founder of the "Franco-Albanian Friendship Society", director of
Albanie (Albania) newspaper, and supported
Communism in Albania. In March 1990, he published in the daily
Le Monde' his vision for the future of back then
communist countries in relation to
Perestroika. Comparing the communist parties to useful churches to hear a different voice, but victims of their bureaucratic functioning and device preservation strategies, he quoted
Ramiz Alia, successor of
Enver Hoxha at the head of the
Albanian Labor Party in September 1989 which reaffirmed that "...The debate and confrontation of ideas, solutions, alternatives, practices are quite normal".
Writer Escarpit received in 1960 the "Peinture fraîche" prize. He has published several novels, including the
Young Man and Night (Jeune Homme et la nuit) (1980), and
A beautiful day to die (Un si beau jour pour mourir) (1992). In 1964, he published one of his most famous novels, the
Littératron.
Ministricule followed after the 1968 government changes, and it makes fun of politicians and businessmen. In the 1980s, he wrote children's books which he illustrated himself, included in the series
Rouletabosse. He then wrote the trilogy of
Travels of Azembat, seaman of Biscay (). In 1953, and with the agreement of Jean Bruel, founding director of the
Bateau Mouche of Paris, Robert Escarpit wrote a biography of the fictional
Jean-Sébastien Mouche, where he is both the collaborator of
Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the inventor of riverboats, and the creator of a police inspectorate specialized in intelligence, the "cookies". A reception in honor of the centenary of Jean-Sébastien Mouche saw even the presence of a minister. ==Publications==