REPRESENTATIONS OF 1st- AND 2nd- GENERATION KURDISH DIASPORICS IN “HONOUR” BY ELIF SHAFAK: BETWEEN CULTURAL AND MODERN REALITIES
REPRESENTATIONS OF 1st- AND 2nd- GENERATION KURDISH DIASPORICS IN “HONOUR” BY ELIF SHAFAK: BETWEEN CULTURAL AND MODERN REALITIES

Summary/Abstract: The 2011 census in Great Britain has shown that approximately 49,000 Kurds were living in the UK at the time. Numbers in 2020 have risen, indicating that half of them were living in London only (cf. Moftizadeh et al. 2022, 1089). The Kurdish diaspora, considered to be the largest stateless ethnic group in the world, originates from countries such as Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria (Hassanpour & Mojab,2005) (cf. Moftizadeh et al. 2022, 1089) and is largely formed of waves of refugees and political exiles. However, the 1960’s and 1970’s are known to be years in which Kurds were also migrating for economic reasons (Adamson et al., 2024, 524).This article analyses representations of 1st- and 2nd-generation Turkish-Kurdish diasporic individuals in Elif Shafak’s novel, ‚Honour’. They are portrayed trying to preserve their cultural heritage while facing the challenges of getting integrated in the new ‚modern’ realities. The novel also emphasises fundamentalist intentions among minority individuals capable of affecting the conduct of the young, otherwise partially integrated in the social values of the country of reception. What will their conduct be when cultural and religious values of their families come against those of the host culture? What difficulties will Kurdish women encounter when their families are disrupted? How will they be judged by the rest of the family? This is an analytical study that applies diaspora studies of belonging and integration, interwoven with cultural studies and gender studies theories.

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