ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the important legacy of the Bakhtin Circle's reconstruction of the study of language as a socio-ideological phenomenon, as opposed to a closed system of signs and fossilized meanings. The Bakhtin Circle's philosophy of language helps us to understand the deep interconnections among language, ideology and social consciousness and how they are part of the power dynamics in society. Their legacy is relevant today for building a critical pedagogy of living language as the teaching of literacy has been reduced to sterile literacy skills training by the enforcement of the latest US educational policies. The pedagogy of living language embraces not only the personal and the cultural dimensions but the broader sociopolitical contexts as well. By using a living language pedagogy, which can be enacted as a carnival, Bakhtinian style, author can boost the engagement and self-empowerment of students, especially from poor and minority backgrounds.
