Seminar on Kurdish novel at SOAS university
Seminar on Kurdish novel at SOAS university
KSSO (Kurdish Studies & Student Organisation) and Kurdish Society at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) is organizing a seminar on Kurdish novel from Exile to Kurdistan: Identity, Home and Belonging. The seminar will be held by author, journalist and PHD Student at Exeter University, Ozlem Galip and will take place on Thursday 5 May at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, B102, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0X.
Kurds have always suffered from the tension between the central governments of the states where they reside and the passion of autonomy. Undoubtedly, in the struggle of autonomy, apart from thousand of death and losses, Kurdish narrative discourse and language is one of the most mobilized and influenced in the complex political and structure of four parts of Kurdistan. Due to political conflicts, while some Kurdish intellectuals chose the path of exile in various Western countries and had the opportunity to publish their novels in their native language( Sorani and Kurmanji), some, despite political conflicts, did not leave their homeland but were obliged to write in the official languages of the States such as Persian, Arabic or Turkish.
Therefore, not only the linguistic/religious diversity, lack of political and national unity have shaped the fragmented character of Kurdish novelistic discourse but forced displacement and voluntary migration of many Kurds westward in search of freedom has led to the creation of different literary narrative discourse in the way the idea of home, identity, and nation are regarded through literary discourse.
Within literary genre, novel will be my main concern throughout this study. The reason for this lies behind the accepted notion affirming the close relationship between novel and nation-building. Due to lack of nation-state, Kurdish novel mostly exists in the in the struggle of national identity and in the aspiration of home. However, can we talk about the same aspiration or struggle for novels written/published in Kurdistan and its Diaspora? But what happens to the idea of ‘home’ for migrant authors who live far from the lands of their birth? How might their travels impact upon the ways home and identity are considered? This paper will attempt to answer these questions with reference to the selected novels both from Kurdistan and diaspora.
The UK Kurdish Studies & Student Organisation is a non-political body that strives to promote greater awareness of the Kurds, their political and cultural situation in the Middle East and as a significant minority community in the UK. Email: [email protected], Website: www.ksso.org.uk
Kurds have always suffered from the tension between the central governments of the states where they reside and the passion of autonomy. Undoubtedly, in the struggle of autonomy, apart from thousand of death and losses, Kurdish narrative discourse and language is one of the most mobilized and influenced in the complex political and structure of four parts of Kurdistan. Due to political conflicts, while some Kurdish intellectuals chose the path of exile in various Western countries and had the opportunity to publish their novels in their native language( Sorani and Kurmanji), some, despite political conflicts, did not leave their homeland but were obliged to write in the official languages of the States such as Persian, Arabic or Turkish.
Therefore, not only the linguistic/religious diversity, lack of political and national unity have shaped the fragmented character of Kurdish novelistic discourse but forced displacement and voluntary migration of many Kurds westward in search of freedom has led to the creation of different literary narrative discourse in the way the idea of home, identity, and nation are regarded through literary discourse.
Within literary genre, novel will be my main concern throughout this study. The reason for this lies behind the accepted notion affirming the close relationship between novel and nation-building. Due to lack of nation-state, Kurdish novel mostly exists in the in the struggle of national identity and in the aspiration of home. However, can we talk about the same aspiration or struggle for novels written/published in Kurdistan and its Diaspora? But what happens to the idea of ‘home’ for migrant authors who live far from the lands of their birth? How might their travels impact upon the ways home and identity are considered? This paper will attempt to answer these questions with reference to the selected novels both from Kurdistan and diaspora.
The UK Kurdish Studies & Student Organisation is a non-political body that strives to promote greater awareness of the Kurds, their political and cultural situation in the Middle East and as a significant minority community in the UK. Email: [email protected], Website: www.ksso.org.uk
