Bakhtine démasqué [Bakhtin unmasked]: A Reply to Critics

Abstract

Our book Bakhtine démasqué [Bakhtin unmasked] (Droz, 2011) and the two translations published so far¹ have to date led to over twenty reviews (see the Bibliography below), ranging from virulent attacks to the expression of approval and acknowledgement, as well as texts combining reproaches with moderate praise, or merely factual summaries.

In this article we will respond in particular to various reproaches that have been addressed to us, but before presenting our reactions, we think it useful to outline the circumstances which led us to undertake the research that resulted in the book, to restate the three major questions to which we attempt to provide answers, and to reformulate the conclusions we have drawn concerning the status and the importance of the conception of texts and discourse that was developed in the USSR in the 1920s and 30s.