The Terminological Thesaurus by M. M. Bakhtin in Modern Russian Dostoevsky Studies

Abstract

The article examines the methodological aspects of the use of M. M. Bakhtin’s terminological thesaurus in modern Dostoevsky studies. The principal focus is on the instrumental application of the typical “Bakhtin formulas”: polyphony, the concept of genres, the confessional character of Dostoevsky’s word, chronotope, context of understanding, menippea, etc. It is noted that some of them are used discretely, that is, outside of their systemic connections with Bakhtin’s heritage as a whole. To one degree or another, they are taken into account in line with Russian ethnopoetics, in which the Bakhtin problem is actualized in the Orthodox context of Russian culture; it is noted that “Bakhtin” serves as the connection between Dostoevsky and the religious and philosophical tradition. Despite the fact that the discourse of a number of works provokes a possible transition to Bakhtin’s context of understanding Dostoevsky, the “absence” of Bakhtin is also significant in them, along with his ritual quoting. Bakhtin’s legacy remains an important philosophical and cultural stage in the study of Dostoevsky in Russian literary studies.