Dialogism: Bakhtin and his World

In Dialogism, Michael Holquist provides the first comprehensive account of the Bakhtinian legacy, drawing on the entire corpus of Bakhtin's existing works, including previously unexamined Soviet archival material. While work from Bakhtin's different periods is highly varied, Holquist argues that there is a coherent shape to the achievement as a whole. Its key is Bakhtin's commitment to the concept of dialogue, the principle of constant interplay between a variety of dynamic voices and discourses in different levels of texts, nature, society and the self. Dialogism develops this crucial concept and explores its relevance to Bakhtin's own dialogue with other great thinkers: Saussure, Freud, Marx, Lukacs, and others. By also including dialogic readings of literary texts, Holquist further demonstrates the rich range and potential of Bakhtin for many areas of study.