Introduction: Reading Bakhtin educationally

Abstract

Reading Bakhtin is a literary experience that leaves the reader gasping for air yet wanting more. His ideas are elusive, foreign, and dark, while at the same time alluring, hopeful, and joyous. To read Bakhtin and the work of other members of his circle calls the reader to a place of instability and confusion-not only in reading the seemingly contradictory nature of the text and grappling with translated misunderstandings, but also in grasping the Aesopian style of writing that characterizes his work.

We offer this collection as a starting point to explore and perhaps even exploit some of the ramifications of Bakhtin's dialogic work; and in doing so consider its relevance for educational theory, practice, and policy across the globe. We welcome the potential for dialogical engagement within this collection by educationalists and others, and look forward to the resulting dialogues-pedagogies and policy encounters-this book will, hopefully, invoke.