Carnivalizing Difference: Bakhtin and the Other

Arising from a conference under the same name held at Texas Tech University,Carnivalizing Differenceseeks to explore the actual and possible relationships between Bakhtinian theory and cultural practice. The introduction explores the changing configurations of our understanding of Bakhtin's work in the context of recent theory and outlines how that understanding can inform, and be informed by, culture both ancient and modern. Eleven articles, spanning a wide range of periods and cultural Forms from Aristophanes to Spike Lee, address these issues in detail, revealing the ways in which Bakhtinian thought illuminates, sometimes obfuscates, but always challenges.