LFU:online

Critical approach to Bakhtin's thinking; knowledge of Bakhtin’s central concepts (dialogicity, polyphony, carnival, chronotopos, speach genres); review of the applicability of Bakhtin theorems to literary texts

Mikhail Bakhtin is probably one of the most original Russian literary and cultural scholars of the 20th century. Already in the late 1920s he declared the "religious thinker" Dostoevskij the founder of the polyphonic novel, and in the heyday of Stalinism Bakhtin developed his concept of carnival in conflict with the official heroic culture. Francois Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel were his godfathers. Slightly less known, but just as unconventional as Bakhtin's early philosophical-aesthetic writings (the "philosophy of action" and "author and hero in aesthetic activity") are the chronotopos study and the works on language theory (including "speach genres"). The exercise will familiarize students with Bakhtin's most important texts and ask them about the topicality and possible applicability of Bakhtin's various concepts of thought, language and culture, which focus on the dialogical relationship between people.

Input of the lecturer, short presentations of the students, discussion

Regular participation, willingness to take part in the discussion, short presentation with written elaboration

In addition to reading the primary literature, the following overview works and/or introductions are recommended:

Clark, Katerina, Holquist Michal: Mikhail Bakhtin. Cambridge 1984.

Konkin, Semen Semenovič, Konkina, Larisa Semenova: Michail Bachtin: Stranicy žizni i tvorčestva. Saransk 1993.

Morson, Gary Saul, Emerson, Caryl: Rethinking Bakhtin: Extensions and Challenges. Evanston 1989.

Sasse, Sylvia: Michail Bachtin zur Einführung. Hamburg 2010.