Dialogue is a particularly loaded word.
Having many possible interpretations, it is itself an example of a a word requiring the inquiry of research. For the purposes of this class, dialogue can be defined as Bahktin, a Russian critic of the earlier 20th century, has defined it. Bahktin was not satisfied with a single definition, but created various interpretations based on the context in which the word appears. Rather than finding one single answer, we are engaged in finding the best answer currently available. This definition of Bahktin's dialogism is highly simplified and is meant to be introductory.