Authoring the Dialogic Self: Gender, Agency and Language Practices

This book offers a truly interdisciplinary perspective on key socio-cultural aspects of second language learning. Building on Bakhtin€™s philosophy of language and the self, it examines the complex intersections among gender, culture, and agency in the everyday discursive practices of immigrants. Bakhtin€™s dialogic framework still remains on the periphery of second language acquisition research. The book embraces not only Bakhtin€™s well-known notion of dialogue but also his core concepts of responsibility and ethics in the analysis of immigrants€™ narrative samples. The significance of narratives is underscored throughout the book, and a dialogic, discourse-centered approach to narrative as a genre is suggested. Authoring the Dialogical Self targets a range of disciplines. Scholars in applied linguistics, narrative studies, cultural psychology, and communication studies will find the discussed concepts relevant. The rich data samples