Bakhtin in Shanghai. ‘Chinese lessons’ for Bakhtin studies

The philosopher M. Bakhtin occupies a unique place in the process of shaping of a new humanistic paradigm. Amid the 1960s crisis in the West, Bakhtin’s key concepts, from ‘carnival’ and ‘polyphony’ to ‘dialogism’, provided a foundation for a common communication code for the humanities, which helped participants of the dialogue to find their mutual points of interest. The 16th International Bakhtin Conference ‘Bakhtin in the Post-Revolutionary Era’, which took place in Shanghai in September 2017, prompted the author to ponder the modern state of international Bakhtin studies and identify certain trends, especially noticeable in the Chinese context of the studies. The multistage reception of his ideas in Russia and abroad reveals a changing treatment of his legacy, much in demand these days, which are typified by a crisis of the humanities. Bakhtin’s stance during and after the revolution, as well as his internal approval of evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, changes in social and cultural history, which are particularly relevant today, suggest that his ideas can be used in the context of polyphonic thinking and new, e. g. digital, technologies.