Bakhtin's Concept Research Articles

Arquipélago Gulag: narrador híbrido e estrutura polifônica

The Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in 1973, exposes the Soviet repressive system through a polyphonic narrative, constructed from over two hundred letters from former zeks and the author's own experience in the Gulags. The work gives voice to those who lived in the camps, establishing a constant dialogue with the official version of Soviet history at the time and constructing historical truth from the testimony of witnesses. This article analyzes how Solzhenitsyn employs polyphony, according to Mikhail Bakhtin's concept, in the construction of an epic novel resulting from an artistic investigative experiment, which relies on a hybrid narrator, both monophonic and polyphonic. Additionally, it explores the role of polyphonic narration in the representation of traumatic events, in light of Walter Benjamin's reflections on the decline of narrative.

Against the promethean: Energy throughput and the far-right politics of degrowth

While criticism of growth by a diverse but overall left-leaning degrowth spectrum has become increasingly prominent, less is known about degrowth stances by far-right actors. While the far right is regularly viewed as ‘productivist’ and tied to fossil fuels, we point to a more complex relationship, taking the German New Right eco-magazine Die Kehre as a case study. Drawing on Bakhtin's concept of chronotope (time–space configuration), we identify two chronotopes, the promethean and the idyllic, with their interaction giving rise to a far-right degrowth stance. The promethean (rejected) signifies environmental destruction and consumerist ways of living. The idyllic (affirmed) posits a reduction in energy throughput, small-scale production/exchange, limits and the building of ‘rooted’ communities. Our analysis provides original conceptualization and one of the first comprehensive accounts of the far-right politics of degrowth. Thus, we raise awareness of how particularistic and non-universal criticisms of growth and capitalism can partly overlap with better known degrowth positions.

From Board Games to Video Games and the World of Avatars: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

In the digital age, the relationship between film and literature demonstrates how different forms of art can collaborate to improve the storytelling experience. Rather than competing, these mediums complement one another, each bringing their own strengths to the storytelling process. This mutual relationship not only enhances the audience's experience but also fosters a greater appreciation for both film and literature (Hutcheon, 2006; Sanders, 2016). The various film adaptations of Chris Van Allsburg’s picturebook Jumanji (1981) are excellent examples of how literature and film can complement and improve one another over time. The first major adaptation of Jumanji was released in 1995 starring Robin Williams and directed by Joe Johnston. Decades later, the story of Jumanji was revitalized with the releases of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) both directed by Jake Kasdan. These adaptations illustrate the changing nature of storytelling across mediums and how each new iteration introduces new perspectives and engages contemporary audiences in novel ways. Mikhail Bakhtin’s concepts of heteroglossia and dialogic relationship (1981) are great tools for understanding how different voices and cultural contexts interact within and between texts, thereby revealing the dynamic nature of storytelling and interpretation. Thus, this paper aims to investigate how Bakhtin's concepts of heteroglossia and dialogic relationship function in Jake Kasdan's 2017 sequel, focusing on how the film adaptation evolves in response to its contemporary context.

The Concept of Difference in Architecture: Transpositions Between Insides and Outsides

Postmodernity unhorsed the subject as powerful creator of life, showing not only that it is not in direct correspondence with the world, but furthermore that it is not even in control of itself. In this context, philosophy introduced an understanding of the world based on the concept of difference. Specifically, structuralism acknowledged difference as a poetics of ambiguity in the service of communication, while poststructulalism proclaimed difference as the impossibility of meaning. In this paper, we critically interpret these approaches in reference to the criterion of interiority/exteriority. Difference under structuralism introduces meaning as totally inside constructed, although towards outside operating. The figurative internalization of the postmodern architecture presents exactly the disconnection of meaning-making processes from the social context and their orientation towards consumption’s external experience. In addition, under the poststructuralist conception of difference the meaning lies exclusively outside and the corresponding trends of architectural creation, while in a way approximating freedom, seem also to contribute to a cultural disempowerment of critical ways of life and thinking. In distance both from the subject’s restriction inside and its abandonment in the tragedy of the outside, we suggest a Bakhtinian conception of difference which allows a creative continuous motion between interiority and exteriority, by both decomposing and producing meaning, always within the conflictual reality. In this direction, architecture may call for a spatial ethos of justice, a carnival polyphonic space of open boundaries between insides and outsides, which, although retaining their identities, they do not construct impenetrable territories as, in a sense, they are always at the critical limit.

What do repatriation and reclamation sound like? Two examples from the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office

AbstractWhen the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990, it marked an important shift in relations between tribal communities and non‐tribal museums in the United States. By listening to how different speakers at the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office talk about repatriation and reclamation, we can see that these processes involve more than the return of ancestors and belongings; they also influence how people speak about and express group identity. In discussions about repatriation, Hopi community members frequently talk to outsiders and adjust to their ways of speaking, if only temporarily. I compare two instances in which speakers creatively used possessive constructions to convey different scales of identity and argue that Bakhtin's concept of “addressivity” illuminates connections between the two. More broadly, I suggest that this concept is useful for thinking about how relationships between tribal and non‐tribal institutions might continue to be transformed in ways that are responsive to contemporary Indigenous claims and presence.

Decoding Iran's meme culture and implications in journalism

The study of digital humour and meme culture as a complex phenomenon, given the growing consumption and popularity of memes, especially among digital technology speakers, coupled with the scarcity of scholarly attention and research on this topic in Iran, has become increasingly relevant. This article focuses on the complex interplay between memes, culture and technology. By analysing the integral role of humour in Iranian digital culture, the study aims to explore the nature and functions of Iranian meme culture. The analysis shows that Iranian digital humour and meme culture function as a platform for equal opportunities to laugh, challenge established cultural norms and question prevailing ideologies. The research methodology is based on the reproduction of gender conventions and power hierarchies in Iran through internet memes. The methods applied are: content analysis, distributive and comparative. The study also builds on Bakhtin's concept of "chronotope" in multimodal analysis of memes common among Iranian immigrants. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that it makes a valuable contribution to the field of journalism and media studies, highlighting the importance of understanding the role of humour and memes in shaping public perception and navigating complex ideological landscapes, as well as the ways in which memes can be used to disrupt or alter these dynamics. The results of the analysis of Iranian digital humour and memes show that meme culture functions as a means to combat inequalities in power and status. In addition, the study demonstrated the Iranian population's reinterpretation of the immigrant experience, thereby reaffirming and refining their hybrid identity as transnational Iranians. This process unfolds through the recreation of different spatio-temporal configurations within the meme.

An Ecocritical Exploration of Bakhtin's Major Concepts in Solar Storms

Mikhail Bakhtin is a Russian scholar who has been studied internationally in fields of literature and the humanities. Basing his theory on the principle of communication, Bakhtin formed a significant path in literary and cultural studies. Some scholars like Michael Gardiner (1993), Michael M. Bell (1994), Michael J. McDowell (1996), Timo Müller (2010) and Patrick D. Murphy (2013) propose that Bakhtin’s concepts can be appropriated to ecocriticism to make more powerful analyses of literary texts since both Bakhtinian literary criticism and ecocriticism highlight diversity, heterogeneity, agency, and interaction. In this way, Bakhtinian ecocritical theory suggests a new definition of the human subject in its relation to the physical environment and nonhuman beings. Revealing the viability of Bakhtinian critical theory with ecological concerns, this article aims to study the novel Solar Storms by Linda Hogan, a Native American female writer, through an “eco-Bakhtinian” approach to explore how nature is represented in Native American context, how the relationship between human and nonhuman worlds is depicted, how both worlds function in one another, how and why the perception of nature differs in cultural aspects, and how the concept of nature has changed over time. In doing so, this article attempts to show the interaction between culture-nature, human-nonhuman, earth-body, body-mind, traditional-modern, native-non-native, fact-fiction, story-history, self-other, individual-society, and text-reader.

Understanding the Interpretation of Bakhtin’s Ideas in Feminist Theory

In recent years, M. Bakhtin's concepts have garnered increasing recognition in Western academic circles, finding applications in diverse fields ranging from linguistics to psychiatry. This belated recognition might appear peculiar without an appreciation for the particular historical context in which Bakhtin's ideas were introduced to the West. Their initial introduction was deeply intertwined with the evolution of feminist theory, feminist criticism, and discussions surrounding gender identity. Notably, the first English rendition of some of Bakhtin's thoughts appeared in Julia Kristeva's “Word, Dialogue and Novel” in 1966, a seminal work in feminist theory. Subsequent to this introduction, for over two decades, Bakhtinian concepts such as “voice”, “dialogism”, “hybrid construction”, “heteroglossia”, and “carnival” were predominantly employed in feminist interpretations by renowned feminist theorists, including J. Kristeva, W. Booth, and D. Bauer. This persisted even after direct translations of Bakhtin's works emerged in the 1980s. For many, this association might appear unexpected and even counterintuitive, given that Bakhtin himself did not address feminist concerns or gender topics directly, nor did he reference female authors in his literary critiques. In this article, I will examine the feminist appropriation of central Bakhtinian notions and explore how Bakhtin's theory offers a fertile ground for feminist interpretive strategies. I further contend that while this feminist embrace significantly propelled the spread of Bakhtinian concepts in the West, it simultaneously restricted their broader adoption by employing them as a “Bakhtinian toolkit” to address theoretical deficiencies and circumvent challenges in feminist theory. Often, this led to a simplistic and reductive understanding of Bakhtinian ideas. Additionally, I posit that this issue stems from a core challenge illuminated by Bakhtin's own work: translations and interpretations of the same ideas across languages are not equivalent, as they are influenced by distinct dialogic systems.

Chronotope in Children's literature

In the analysis of literary texts, it is crucial to have in mind the concept of chronotope. Mikhail Bakhtin, a prominent Russian literary theorist, employs the term to analyze the arrangement of temporal and spatial elements within literary texts. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Bakhtin's theoretical concept known as "the chronotope" and its impact on literary texts. Furthermore, its impact on children's literature should also be considered. This study aims to address the following inquiries. 1.The concept of chronotope refers to the literary and linguistic notion that combines the temporal and spatial dimensions within a narrative or discourse. 2. The Significance of the Chronotope. 3. In what manner might the concept of chronotope be employed in the analysis and interpretation of a textual work? The present study is structured into three distinct components. The initial segment pertains to the Bakhtinian concept of chronotope, which encompasses an examination of chronotope itself, its elucidation, and its manifestation as expounded by Bakhtin. Section two provides an elucidation of children's literature and its interconnection with the concept of chronotope. Section three of this study investigates the representation of chronotope in children's literature.

Interaction, Heteroglossia and Discourse in the #maternidadereal [realmaternity

ABSTRACT This article is the result of a doctoral study about the maternal ethos in social networks and it aims to reflect on the expression #maternidadereal [real maternity], used in internet posts. In the light of Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia, this observation will start from the idea of interaction, a fundamental and constituent phenomenon in social networks. the meaning of “real” will be considered from Jacques Lacan’s theory, to delineate the differences between the hegemonic discourse of traditional motherhood, of romanticization, and the contemporary and counter-hegemonic discourse, through which motherhood can be vented in its pains. Finally, in order to verify how these discourses intersect in the materiality of language, 5 posts with the tag #maternidadereal will be analyzed, determining, through their brands, which axiological axis they are affiliated with. As a result, it was noticed that the idea of “real” fluctuates according to the subject-position of the mother who appropriates it, evidencing the heteroglossia that underlies these statements.

Spatial representation through graphic narrative: a practical approach

Narrative is a form of production that incorporate elements such as characters, time, and space. These elements work together to convey subject actions in a temporal context, and can be communicated through verbal, written, and visual forms. The spatial information in different narrative forms is represented using a variety of tools and methods. Bakhtin's concept of "chronotope" highlights the interdependent nature of time and space in textual narratives and can be applied to visual narratives. The potential of graphic narrative as a medium to visualize time through sequential frames makes it a valuable tool to explore spatial knowledge and representation in architectural education. This paper explores the spatial representation capabilities of graphic narratives using the concept of chronotope, and presents a practical exercise called "Narrative of Space" that can be used to promote spatial thinking and representation in first-year architectural education.

Inference and indexicality, or how to solve Bakhtin's problem with heteroglossia

Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia was ambiguous on a central point: whether the styles or socio-ideological languages that constituted it were creations of novelistic discourse itself or were already established in everyday speech and incorporated into the novel. The sociolinguistic and anthropological literature on indexicality has greatly enriched our understanding of heteroglossia, but, it, too, leaves this question up in the air. After a brief review of writing on indexicality, we show that the idea of ‘n + 1’, higher-order, indexicality, first mooted by Silverstein, intersects with debates in analytic philosophy of language about the relative roles of inference and semiosis in linguistic understanding. Higher-order indexicality, crucially, depends upon inferential processes, ranging from simple analogy to complex argument, and this has consequences for where indexical values are established.

The construction of the character and her speeches: an analysis of Mafalda's strips from Bakhtin

This article aims to analyze how we can verify Bakhtin's concepts of inner dialogue, exotopy, vision surplus, finishing, material emotive-volitional orientation and axiological surplus in the construction of characters and their speeches in Mafalda's comic strips, created by Argentine cartoonist, Quino. For this, we selected two strips, the first being a dialogue between Mafalda and a crab, in which it is possible to observe Mafalda's dialogical articulation with her own; and the second strip, in turn, brings a dialogue between Mafalda, her best friend – Susanita – and her colleague Filipe, in a conversation full of discordant points of view and discourses established from conceptions constructed by references coming from social classes, context political and economic in which the characters are inserted. After the analysis, it was possible to perceive the analysis carried out shows that several of the concepts coined by Bakhtin can be verified in the strips, from the construction of the (anti) heroine Mafalda, with her irony and ideological alignment inherited from the author, to the elaborations of the characters' statements loaded with opinions that call to reflection on the great human questions.

A Critical Companion to Old Norse Literary Genre

A Critical Companion to Old Norse Literary Genre

Realismo grotesco e corpo grotesco em Bakhtin

ABSTRACT In this article, we will discuss the Bakhtinian concepts of Grotesque realism and grotesque body from various perspectives. We will begin by exploring the synchronic approaches taken by contemporary linguists and semioticians. Additionally, we will delve into Bakhtin’s own treatment of these concepts, tracing their origins to his doctoral thesis during the early 20th century within the context of the Soviet Union. Subsequently, we will examine the significance of both concepts within the work Rabelais and His World, Finally, we will scrutinize some instances of the Grotesque in literary and visual arts from Ancient Judaism and early in Medieval Christianity, which were either directly or indirectly referenced by Bakhtin.

Audiovisual genres in BookTubers’ productions : a quantitative analysis

Using Bakhtin's concept of genre (1982), this article presents a quantitative analysis of the most popular genres among the productions of Spanish-speaking BookTubers (Book + YouTubers). Its aim is to determine which discourses are the most dominant discursive forms in their production and the repercussions these audiovisual genres have on their audiences through quantitative indicators of popularity (views, likes/dislikes/comments). We quantify the presence of audiovisual genres in a random sample of videos published in 2017 (n=368) using digital methods, through the informatic script YouTube Data Tools to obtain information about the videos (Title, Description, Number of Views, Comments, Likes and Dislikes). Evidence shows that BookTubers are able to use a great variety of audiovisual genres that come both from other YouTubers (such as vlogs, challenges, hangouts, hauls or unboxings) and from other media (reviews, rankings, lists, interviews). The most prominent in our corpus are the review, the list and the wrap-up, which fit a traditional recommendation function; however, the most popular among their audiences, in terms of views, comments and likes, are those in which the BookTuber performs a thematic selection of several books, such as lists, rankings or wrap-ups. This reinforces the curatorial value of their work as reading mediators.

To Be or Not to Be A Nomad: The Limits of Iconoclasm in Si Mohand U'Mhand's Poetry

AbstractThe nineteenth-century Kabyle poet Si Mohand U'Mhand is often celebrated as an icon of freedom and unconventionality. Questioning this myth, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate that this bard was rather a liminal figure that oscillated between iconoclasm and conservatism. Drawing on Gilles Deleuze's and Felix Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus and Mikhaïl Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque, the article argues that despite Si Mohand's being a notorious wanderer, he was not a nomad in that his poetry betrays a longing for the “State.” Indeed, the poet lamented his nomadic and unconventional lifestyle as the mark of a social and moral decline forced on him by the colonial intrusion, which stripped his family of their lands following his father's execution. In addition, the poet perpetuates the hierarchized and prejudiced traditional representations of his society's different social classes and racial components.

‘Eyesight to the Blind’: Secular and Religious Dialogue in the ‘Devil's Music’

AbstractI adopt a dialogic approach to refute Paul Oliver’s claim that there is no challenge to the authority of the black Church or religion in the segregated ‘race records’ of the first half of the 20th century in the United States. I dismiss the claims of some black theologians that the presence of biblical imagery in the blues means that performers were essentially religious. I show that the dialogue between secular song and religious sermons on record involved mutual parody, satire, and polemic in a common speech genre. Attacks on the Church, its members, clergy, and doctrines were common. Recorded sermons spoke back in defense. Mikhail Bakhtin's concepts offer purchase on the relations between secular and religious recordings in an ongoing struggle for hegemony in black cultural production.

Possibilities of Applying M.M. Bakhtin's Theory of Polyphony to the Analysis of Dramatic Works

The subject of the study is the possibility of applying M.M. Bakhtin's theory of polyphony to the analysis of dramatic works. Bakhtin’s concept of "polyphony" is associated with the identification of a new novel genre – the polyphonic novel and a new type of artistic thinking, which is different from the monological type. Bakhtin justified the new phenomenon on the example of the work of F.M. Dostoevsky, and does it have a wider distribution? According to many Chinese researchers, Bakhtin's theory of polyphony can be applied not only to Dostoevsky, but also to the dramaturgy of W. Shakespeare, A.P. Chekhov, the Chinese playwright Gao Xingjian, etc. They try to analyze the polyphonic features of various dramatic works, relying on Bakhtin's theory of polyphony. However, some researchers do not accurately interpret Bakhtin's concept. They discover elements of polyphony in some dramatic work and thus consider it quite polyphonic. In this article, the author examines Bakhtin's statements about the monologue of drama and reveals the inaccuracy of Chinese researchers’ interpretations of Bakhtin’s concept of polyphony. Based on the conducted research, we came to the conclusion that M.M. Bakhtin's theory of polyphony does not go beyond the limits of the novel genre, and it cannot be applied to the analysis of dramatic works. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that this article examines various interpretations of Bakhtin’s concepts and terms and reveals the incorrect use of the Bakhtin’s theory of polyphony in modern Chinese literary studies. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is to determine the scope of the application of M.M. Bakhtin's theory of polyphony and to identify the state of reception of Bakhtin's theory of polyphony in China.

"Alien Word" and Centon: Aspects of the Theory of M.M. Bakhtin

This article contains a conceptual description of the problematics of "foreign word" in the general literary methodology of analysis by Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (1895–1975), and a description of its individual theoretical aspects. The subject of the study is Bakhtin's concept of "foreign word". The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as "alien speech", "alien consciousness" in the context of the ideas of M.M. Bakhtin, as well as his student and colleague in the "Nevelsk-Vitebsk seminar" - Valentin Nikolaevich Voloshinov (1895-1936). Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the centon genre, which in the history of verbal culture has become a source of creative discoveries and innovative techniques for various authors. The analyzed aspects of Bakhtin's theory allow us to draw an important conclusion about the distinctive features of the organization of a literary text in modernist and postmodernist literature. The organization of the artistic text in modern postmodern literature occurs in accordance with the principles of centonicity and quotation, i.e. cultural mediation of most artistic artifacts. The main difference between postmodern works and most reminiscent works of modernism is that allusions and reminiscences cease to perform the function of references to universally valid concepts, but work in the centonal mode (dramatically rethinking the original context - up to its leveling, "dissolution", "spraying" ) organization of a literary text.