born June 24, 1941, Sliven, Bulg.
Bulgarian-born French psychoanalyst, critic, and educator.
Professor of linguistics at the University of Paris VII, she is known for her writings in structuralist linguistics (see structuralism ), psychoanalysis, semiotics , and feminism. She was a protégé of Roland Barthes , and she synthesized elements from such thinkers as Jacques Lacan , Michel Foucault , and Mikhail Bakhtin in creating her own theories. Her novels include The Samurai (1990) and The Old Man and the Wolves (1991).