Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography
The war of 1971 has been widely represented in all forms of media in Bangladesh. However, Pakistani literature offers a stark contrast, as references to the war are sparse. The representation of the war in Pakistani official discourse is also understandably contradictory to that of Bangladesh. Kamil...
Wedi'i Gadw mewn:
| Cyhoeddwyd yn: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles, |
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| Prif Awdur: | |
| Fformat: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Iaith: | Anglais |
| Cyhoeddwyd: |
Angles
2022
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| Pynciau: | |
| Mynediad Ar-lein: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_5209 |
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openedition |
| spelling |
openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_5209 https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.5209 urn:doi:10.4000/angles.5209 en https://journals.openedition.org/angles/5209 2022-05-27T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/9n1u https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography Angles Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2274-2042 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles Sen, Madhurima littérature guerre violence mémoire Pakistan amnésie nationalisme Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh literature war violence memory Pakistan amnesia nationalism Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh The war of 1971 has been widely represented in all forms of media in Bangladesh. However, Pakistani literature offers a stark contrast, as references to the war are sparse. The representation of the war in Pakistani official discourse is also understandably contradictory to that of Bangladesh. Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography (2001) is one of the few Pakistani novels setting the 1971 war as its backdrop. This article attempts to understand the role of literary narratives to offer a perspective which diverges from the nationalist public narrative. It endeavours to locate the novel in a world of proliferating international apologies for historical misdeeds. It delineates the cyclical nature of violence and hatred as demonstrated in the novel by drawing connections between various historical events and their memories, as it attempts to understand how the relationship between personal and political shapes individual and national identity. This article demonstrates through a close reading of the novel how narratives are used to forge collective amnesia and collective denial of responsibility, interrogating generational guilt and national self-examination as illustrated in Kartography. La guerre de 1971 a été largement représentée sous différentes formes au Bangladesh. Cependant, la littérature pakistanaise offre un contraste frappant, les références à la guerre étant rares. La représentation de la guerre dans le discours officiel pakistanais est également à l’opposé de celle du Bangladesh. Kartography (2001) de Kamila Shamsie est l'un des rares romans pakistanais qui a pour toile de fond la guerre de 1971. Cet article étudie ce roman dans le but de comprendre le rôle des récits littéraires pour offrir une perspective alternative au récit nationaliste. Il s'efforce de situer le roman dans un monde où prolifèrent les excuses internationales pour les méfaits de l'histoire. Il décrit la nature cyclique de la violence et de la haine telle qu’elle est démontrée dans le roman en établissant des liens entre divers événements historiques et leurs souvenirs afin de comprendre comment la relation entre l’intime et le politique façonne l'identité individuelle et nationale. Cet article démontre, par une lecture attentive du roman, comment les récits sont utilisés pour forger une amnésie collective et un déni collectif de responsabilité en interrogeant la culpabilité générationnelle et l'examen de conscience national tels qu'ils sont illustrés dans Kartography. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
littérature guerre violence mémoire Pakistan amnésie nationalisme Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh literature war violence memory Pakistan amnesia nationalism Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh |
| spellingShingle |
littérature guerre violence mémoire Pakistan amnésie nationalisme Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh literature war violence memory Pakistan amnesia nationalism Shamsie Kamila Bangladesh Sen, Madhurima Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| description |
The war of 1971 has been widely represented in all forms of media in Bangladesh. However, Pakistani literature offers a stark contrast, as references to the war are sparse. The representation of the war in Pakistani official discourse is also understandably contradictory to that of Bangladesh. Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography (2001) is one of the few Pakistani novels setting the 1971 war as its backdrop. This article attempts to understand the role of literary narratives to offer a perspective which diverges from the nationalist public narrative. It endeavours to locate the novel in a world of proliferating international apologies for historical misdeeds. It delineates the cyclical nature of violence and hatred as demonstrated in the novel by drawing connections between various historical events and their memories, as it attempts to understand how the relationship between personal and political shapes individual and national identity. This article demonstrates through a close reading of the novel how narratives are used to forge collective amnesia and collective denial of responsibility, interrogating generational guilt and national self-examination as illustrated in Kartography. |
| author |
Sen, Madhurima |
| author_facet |
Sen, Madhurima |
| author_sort |
Sen, Madhurima |
| title |
Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| title_short |
Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| title_full |
Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| title_fullStr |
Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Collective Amnesia and Generational Memory in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography |
| title_sort |
collective amnesia and generational memory in kamila shamsie’s kartography |
| publisher |
Angles |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.5209 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/angles/5209 |
| _version_ |
1877293175640424449 |