Seminar: From the shepherd to the Gardens of fantasy: The 75th anniversary of the Kurdish novel
Posted on 12. May, 2010 by Janroj in Calender, News
From the shepherd to the Gardens of fantasy: The 75th anniversary of the Kurdish novel
Speaker: Dr Hashem Ahmadzadeh, Senior lecturer in Kurdish Studies, Director of Centre for Kurdish Studies of Exeter University
Date/ time: 27th May 2010 @ 5:30pm-7:00pm
Venue: B104, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG
Organised by Kurdish Society at SOAS (KSSOAS) and Kurdish Studies and Students Organisation (KSSO)
Seminar Abstract
Kurdish novel since its rise during the early 1930s has experienced many profound changes both thematically and stylistically. This presentation aims to identify the main changes that have occurred in the Kurdish novel since its rise up to the first decade of the 21st century. Comparing the style and theme of the early Kurdish novels with recently published novels, shows that there are radical changes in both their form and theme. These changes are the result of the destruction of the pre-modern ways of life and the penetration of modernity in the Kurdish societies.
While internal Kurdish cultural and socio-political factors have been at play behind changes in the form and content of the Kurdish novel, the “global culture” has also been effectively influential in shaping the Kurdish novel. Despite the fact that the Kurdish novel has been influenced by the transition of the Western novelistic discourse to the Middle East, it has, thematically, been functioning as a “national allegory” as it has been conceptualised by Jameson as the main feature of “the third world” literature.
