Non-Working, Communism and Carnival: Reading Andrei Platonov's Chevengur with Bakhtin

Author: Skradol, Natalia

Source: The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 87, Number 4, 1 October 2009 , pp. 601-628(28)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

The article explores practices of (non-)working in Andrei Platonov's Chevengur as expressive of post-revolutionary carnival economy. The concept of `carnival economy' is analysed in the broader context of both Bakhtin's and Platonov's oeuvre, as well as against the background of cultural realities of the time. It is argued that an unconventional treatment of the idea of `work' in the novel can be helpful in tracing some key motifs that defined the construction of a post-revolutionary society, while also providing a useful framework for developing further the historical significance of some of Bakhtin's theoretical premises.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: The Center for German Studies/European Forum at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Publication date: 2009-10-01

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The Review is the oldest British journal in the field, having been in existence since 1922. Edited and managed by the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, it covers not only the modern and medieval languages and literatures of the Slavonic and East European area, but also history, culture, and political studies.