Bakhtinian Thought: An Introductory Reader

First published in 1994. Mikhail Bakhtin, and the writers associated with him, have come to be recognised as writers of trail-blazing importance. Working in the extraordinarily difficult conditions of Stalinist Russia, they nevertheless produced a body of writing in literary theory, linguistics, the history of the novel, philosophy, and what Bakhtin called ‘philosophical anthropology’, which continues to inspire and challenge people working in a number of different areas. Above all, Bakhtin insists on locating all utterances, whether spoken or literary, between the participants in a dialogue and thus involves them in considerations of power and authority. This introduction and reader serves a double function. In the first place, Simon Dentith provides a lucid and approachable introduction of the work of Bakhtin and his circle, taking the reader helpfully through the many areas of their thought, and indicating the points of controversy, difficulty and excitement. This introductory section culminates in a discussion of the particular emphases lent by Bakhtin to current debates in literary theory. The other feature of the book is the anthology of writing by Bakhtin, Voloshinov and Medvedev, drawn from all the major areas of their work. This provides an especially helpful reader for a body of work otherwise published in disparate and relatively inaccessible forms. Special emphasis has been given to the still unsurpassed linguistic thought of Voloshinov, and the practical analyses of the novel found in Bakhtin’s writing on Dostoevsky and Dickens. This book will be especially interesting to readers new to the work of Bakhtin and his circle. The combination of an introduction and an anthology will allow such readers a context for their reading of Bakhtin, an indication of his importance for contemporary debates in literature, language and social history, and the opportunity to engage directly with the writings of this important and indeed, for the student of literary theory, essential writer.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part I An overview of the writings of Bakhtin and his circle Introduction 1 Voloshinov and Bakhtin on language 2 Bakhtin on the novel 3 Bakhtin’s carnival 4 Bakhtin and contemporary criticism, Notes to Part I Part II Extracts from the writings of Bakhtin and his circle 5 V.N. Voloshinov: ‘Language, speech, and utterance’ and ‘Verbal interaction’ 6 M.M. Bakhtin and P.N. Medvedev: from ‘Material and device as components of the poetic construction’ 7 M.M. Bakhtin: ‘The hero’s monologic discourse and narrational discourse in Dostoevsky’s short novels’ 8 M.M. Bakhtin: ‘Heteroglossia in the novel’ 9 M.M. Bakhtin: from ‘The grotesque image of the body and its sources’, Notes to Part II

About the Author :
Simon Dentith is Reader in English at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education.