Internet - The Begining of the New or the Reprise of the Old? (What Does Bakhtin Have to Do with All of This?)

Abstract

The article tackles the question of the relationship between the book and the Internet as a communication medium, which will crucially mark communication inthe 21st century. Particular attention is focused on the properties of Internet interaction (IRC, MUD), which provide an individual with a new opportunity for building his own identity. In judging the new form of communication the paper rests upon the theoretical principles established by Russian anthropologist Mikhail Bakhtin. His ideas about heteroglossia, carnivalization, and marginality come to life in a special way in the communication determined by Internet.