Middleton, Tim (1991) The operation of discourse as a motive for critical practice : a Bakhtinian perspective. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis offers a Bakhtinian perspective on the
operation of discourse in critical practice. Bakhtin's
account of the individual's relation to language
provides the basis for an examination of the ways in
which discourse operates as a constraint upon and motive
for acts of interpretation. In this my thesis breaks
with the dominant use of Bakhtinian theory in which it
is deployed as a means of analysing the operation of
discourse in literary texts.
In what follows I begin with an account of Bakhtin's
sociolinguistics. Having established the theoretical
framework for my analysis I move on to characterise the
discourses of the heteroglossia in Britain in the period
1900 to 1930. For ease of analysis my account is
divided into two sections. In the first of these the
discourses operating at the societal level are discussed
whilst the second section is concerned with the
discourses which operated in literary critical circles
at this time.
In the third section of this work I offer an
intermediate synthesis via an analysis of the operation
of the discourses identified in preceding section in the
practice of leading literary critics from this era.
This section also enables me to offer a fuller account
of the various discourses informing critical practice at
this time.
In the fourth section I examine the criticism generated
by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in the period 1899
to 1930 and offer a detailed account of the ways in
which the discourses identified in previous sections
operate as constraints upon the act of criticism. More
general works on Conrad from this period are also
analysed.
In my Conclusion I step back from the minutiae of
critical practice and offer an account of some of the
problems associated with adopting a Bakhtinian
perspective on the processes of criticism. I end with a
brief statement of the value of Bakhtinian theory as a
basis for critical practice.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Bakhtin, (Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich), 1895-1975 -- Criticism and interpretation
Official Date:	March 1991
Dates:	Date Event March 1991 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Extent:	451 leaves
Language:	eng

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