Osovsky O. E., Kirzhaeyeva V. P.

Mikhail Mikhaylovich Bakhtin: Reconstructing a Scholarly Biography (Part 1). P. 90- 102

UDC  821.161.1.09(092)

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2020.69.4.011

 

 

The article reconstructs a scholarly biography of M. M. Bakhtin, an outstanding philosopher of the 20th century, whose influence on the development of humanities in Russia and abroad can hardy be overestimated and remains strong even in the 21st century. One of the most important goals of Bakhtin studies as an interdisciplinary humanitarian research of recent decades is the investigation of M. M. Bakhtin’s philosophy and its evolution during the 1910s–1970s as well as the study of external factors, philosophical schools and trends that influenced Bakhtin’s philosophy. M. M. Bakhtin’s collected works (published in 2012), research works conducted by V. L. Makhlin, N. I. Nikolayev, N. A. Pankov, N. D. Tamarchenko, L. A. Gogotisjvili, M. Kholkvist, G. S. Morson, K. Emerson, G. Tikhanov, K. Brendist, articles and essays written by S. G. Bocharov, V. V. Kozhinov, B. N. Turbin, and other works gain special significance in the present context. The authors of the article describe M. M. Bakhtin’s life and work through the prism of an interdisciplinary approach, employ the methods of microhistory and the idea of little time, rely on the investigations of Russian and foreign scholars working in the field of Bakhtin studies and their own research conduced in the 1990s-2010s. The article focuses on some landmarks of the philosopher’s scholarly biography, characterizes his major achievements, investigates the evolution of his philosophical and aesthetical views and his research methodology, characterizes the scholarly and socio-cultural contexts of Bakhtin’s work in Newel and Vitebsk, analyzes Bakhtin’s “Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics”, investigates his manuscript about Rabelais and his late works.

The first part of the article attempts to reconstruct the philosopher’s life and work starting with the early period and finishing with the “Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics” and the exile caused by the Voskresenie case.

 

  1. M. Bakhtin, scholarly biography; little time; cultural dialogue; history of Russian philology; Bakhtin studies; biographical method; microhistory; sociological poetics; problems of Dostoyevsky’s poetics

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2020.69.4.011

References:

  1. Bahtin M. M. The Art and the Responsibility. Bahtin M. M. Sobranije sochinenij: v 6 tomah [Bakhtin M. M. Collected Stories: in 6 volumes]. Moscow, Russian Dictionaries Publ., Slavic Languages Publ., 2003, vol. 1, pp. 5–6. (In Russian).
  2. Bicilli P. M. A Review of M. M. Bakhtin’s Book The Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Work. Sovremennye zapiski [Contemporary Notes]. Paris, 1930, iss. 42, pp. 538–540, Leningrad, Surf Publ., 1929, 244 p. (In Russian).
  3. Bicilli P. M. A Letter to M. V. Vishnyak of January 28, 1930. Sovremennye zapiski (Parizh, 1920–1940). Iz arhiva redakcii [Contemporary Note (Paris, 1920–1940). From the Editorial Archive, Moscow, NLO Publ., 2012, vol. 2, pp. 511–512. (In Russian).
  4. Vasil’ev N. L. A Review of S. S. Konkin, L. S. Konkina’s book Mikhail Bakhtin: Pages of Life and Work. Karnaval. Hronotop [Dialogue. Festival. Chronotope]. 1994, no. 3, pp. 144–151, Saransk. Mordovia Publishing House Publ., 1993, 397 p. (In Russian).
  5. Maksimovskaya L. M. (comp). The Molot Newspaper (1918–1920). Nevel’skij sbornik [Newel Collection]. St. Petersburg, Acropolis Publ., 1996, iss. 1: Stat’i i vospominanija. K 100-letiju M. M. Bahtina [Articles and Memoirs: Commemorating M. M. Bakhtin’s 100th Anniversary], pp. 147–158. (In Russian).
  6. Kagan M. I. O hode istorii [The Course of History]. Moscow, Languages of Slavic Culture Publ., 2004, 707 p. (In Russian).
  7. Kozhinov V. V., Konkin S. S. Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin: a Short Essay of Life and Work. Problemy pojetiki i istorii literatury: sbornik statey: k 75-letiju so dnja rozhdenija i 50-letiju nauchno-pedagogiceskoj dejatel’nosti Mihaila Mihajlovicha Bahtina [The Problems of Poetics and History and Literature. A Collection of Articles. Commemorating Mikhail Mkhailovich Bakhtin’s 75th Birth Anniversary and the 50th Anniversary of his Scholarly Career]. Saransk, Mordovia State University Publ., 1973, pp. 5–19. (In Russian).
  8. Konkin S. S., Konkina L. S. Mihail Bahtin: (Stranicy zhizni i tvorchestva) [Mikhail Bakhtin (Pages of Life and Work)]. Saransk, Mordovia Publishing House Publ., 1993, 400 p. (In Russian).
  9. Korovashko A. V. Mihail Bahtin [Mikhail Bakhtin]. Moscow, Young Guards Publ., 2017, 450 p. (In Russian).
  10. Laptun V. I. To M. M. Bakhtin’s Biography. Karnaval. Hronotop [Dialogue. Festival. Chronotope]. 1993, no. 1 (2), pp. 67–73. (In Russian).
  11. Mirkina R. M. Bakhtin as I knew him (Young Bakhtin). Karnaval. Hronotop [Dialogue. Festival. Chronotope]. 1993, no. 1 (2), pp. 92–97. (In Russian).
  12. Miheeva L. I. Sollertinskij: Zhizn’ i nasledie [I. Solleterinsky. Life and Legacy]. Leningrad, Soviet Composer Publ., 1988, 256 p. (In Russian).
  13. M. Bahtin: besedy s V. D. Duvakinym [M. M. Bakhtin: Conversations with V. D. Duvankin]. Moscow, Agreement Publ., 2002, 400 p. (In Russian).
  14. Nikolaev N. I. Newel Philosophical School (M. Bakhtin, M. Kagan, L. Pumpyansky in 1918–1925): on the Materials of L. Pumpyansky’s Archive. M. Bahtin i filosofskaja kul’tura XX veka: Problemy bahtinologii [M. M. Bakhtin and the Philosophical Culture of the 20th Century: Problems of Bakhtin Studies]. St. Petersburg, Education Publ., 1991, iss. 1, part 2, pp. 31–43. (In Russian).
  15. Nikolaev N. I. M. M. Bakhtin in Newel in the Summer of 1919. Nevel’skij sbornik [Newel Collection]. St. Petersburg, Acropolis Publ., 1996, iss. 1, pp. 96–101. (In Russian).
  16. Nikolaev N. I. Commentary. Bahtin M. M. Sobranije socinenj v 6 tomah [M. M. Bakhtin: Collected Works: in 6 volumes]. Moscow, Russian Dictionaries Publ., Slavic Languages Publ., 2003, pp. 347–351. (In Russian).
  17. Nikolaev N. I. The Slandered Life of a Philosopher. Literaturnyj fakt [Literary Facts]. 2018, no. 7, pp. 358–391. DOI: 10.31860/0131-6095-2018-3-113-12. (In Russian).
  18. Osovskij O. E. The Bakhtin Circle. In the Master’s Absence. Voprosy literatury [Literary Issues]. 2005, no. 4, pp. 368–369.
  19. Osovskij O. E. The Know-How of the Biography Genre. Voprosy literatury [Literary Issues]. 2018, no. 3, pp. 62–83. DOI: 10.22455/2541-8297-2018-7-385-391. (In Russian).
  20. Osovskij O. E., Kirzhaeva V. P. “…they say, well, that I said that…”: “Controversial Texts in Bakhtin Studies of the Late 1980s — 1990s”. Filologija: nauchnye issledovanija [Philology: Scholarly Research]. 2018, no. 3, pp. 156–168. DOI: 10.7256/2454-0749.2018.3.27297. (In Russian).
  21. Pan’kov N. A. The Riddles of the Early Period (A Few More Touches to “M. M. Bakhtin’s Biography”). Karnaval. Hronotop [Dialogue. Festival Chronotope]. 1993, no. 1 (2), pp. 74–89. (In Russian).
  22. Pan’kov N. A. Archival Materials about the Newel Period of M. M. Bakhtin’s Biography. Nevel’skij sbornik: stat’i, pis’ma, vospominanija [Newel Collection: Articles, Letters, Memoires]. St. Petersburg, Acropolis Publ., 1998, iss. 3, pp. 94–110. (In Russian).
  23. Perlina N. I Can’t Keep Silent! I Accuse! Russkaja literatura [Russian Literature]. 2018, no. 3, pp. 113–120. DOI: 10.31860/0131-6095-2018-3-113-12. (In Russian).
  24. Holikov A. A. The Fruit of Popular Science. Musing over the Genre of a Biography of a Literary Scholar. Voprosy literatury [Literary Issues]. 2011, no. 1, pp. 341–354. (In Russian).
  25. Judina M. V. Vysokij stojkij duh. Perepiska 1918–1945 godov [The Great and Steadfast Spirit. The Correspondence of 1918–1945]. Moscow, ROSSPJeN Publ., 2006, 656 p. (In Russian).
  26. Bachtin N. Lectures and Essays. Birmingham, University of Birmingham Publ., 1963, 145 p.
  27. Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham. Papers of Nicholas Bachtin. URL : http://calmview.bham.ac.uk/GetDocument.ashx?db=Catalog&fname=US5+Papers+of+Nicholas+Bachtin.pdf (accessed: 15.10.2020).
  28. Clark K., Holquist M. Mikhail Bakhtin: A biography. Cambridge, London, Belknap press of Harvard University press Publ., 1984, 398 p.
  29. Holquist M. Introduction: The Architectonics of Answerability. Art and Answerability: Early Philosophical Essays by M. M. Bakhtin. Austin, University of Texas Press Publ., 1990, P. IX–XLIX.
  30. Morson G. S. The Bakhtin Industry. The Slavic and East European Journal. 1986, vol. 30, no. 1 (Spring), pp. 81–90.
Uncategorized