Kurdish Image in Novels of Early Period of Turkish Republic

Authors : Şener Şükrü Yiğitler

Pages : 41-52

Doi:10.21600/ijoks.516478

View : 234 | Download : 2001

Publication Date : 2019-01-25

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines the representation of Kurdish people in novels written during the early Turkish Republic period. Turkish literature in the early years of the newborn republic produced works in line with official discourse and state policies; the novel was the most popular art form and a convenient means of propaganda. The Kurdish question, which remains unresolved to this day, has its roots in the establishment of the Turkish republic. Being the most resistant minority group before the nation-state project in this period, Kurds were considered a national security threat, and their demands were made a part of the “securitization” policies of the nation-state process. Accordingly, in fiction, Kurds were only referenced in the context of Kurdish rebellions that took place in the early years of the republic. They were represented as “bandits” and “reactionaries” in novels dealing with them, which were already too few in number.
Keywords : Early period of Turkish Republic, Novel, Rebellion, Reactionism, Literature

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