Rowan Williams and Mikhail Bakhtin: The Appeal of Polyphony

This thesis explores the relationship between Rowan Williams and Mikhail Bakhtin, especially Bakhtin’s notion of polyphony. This thesis traces the presence of the polyphonic approach in Williams’ work to three main issues: the debate around the nature and future of the Anglican Communion, the debate around the place of Christianity in the increasingly secular modern West and the debate around the nature of faith presented in the works of Dostoevsky. Adopting Bakhtin’s polyphonic approach, Williams sees the need for an on-going conversation, one that argues for the equality of voices within a conversation, one that resists the impulse toward closure and one that resists the impulse toward uttering a final word in a debate. This thesis also touches on the polyphonic quality of the works of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Vern S. Poythress and John Gray.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theology

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Gremaud, Antony N

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Darren C. Marks

• Rowan Williams
• Mikhail Bakhtin
• Polyphony
• Anglican Communion

Language dc:language.iso

en_ca

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/32995

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/32995