STUDENTS' RESPONSES TO BAKHTIN
Bakhtin says that interpreting or reading is what constructs your universe. This is how we know and are known. (Joe Tennis)
This is all very sociological--the idea that we cannot function without doing this vocalization-and-answer game. Could a person ever escape it? What are the ramifications if one does try to escape? Insanity? (Joe Tennis)
Dostoevsky's multi-faceted characters, heroes whose consciousnesses are independent and complex, are made up of multiple thoughts and voices existing simultaneously . . . His hyperreal characters drive his novels more than the plots do. So much, in fact, that the role of authorship was also refined considerably by Dostoevsky's new method. Our very first readings on the mutability and unfinalized nature of electronic text are hardly raising any new points, it seems. (J. P. Mohan)
I found myself wondering if Bakhtin identified with medieval carnival because in it he found what he was seeking: relief from oppression. For example, on page 209, all of a sudden it sounds as if the tone of the essay changes. He writes, "the serious aspects of class culture are official and authoritarian; they are combined with violence, prohibitions, limitations, and always contain an element of fear and intimidation." I wondered whether that was an observation of life in the middle ages and the Renaissance, or a critique of a situation closer to home. (Reed Haslach)
I am interested in the connection between carnival, profanities, and oaths (as understood by Rabelais) and contemporary activity. For example, when Bakhtin described the language used during the Renaissance, I thought of the contemporary urban tradition of "the dozens." "The dozens" consists of a relay of insults (about one's mother, girlfriend, etc.--it's an inherently sexist operation). It's not meant to hurt, but rather as more of a competitive bantering. The fun qualities of degredation are certainly not lost in this case. (Reed Haslach)
What next?