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Kurdish Bildungsroman and Its Historical and Social Concerns: The Case of Sayyed Qadir Hedayati

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2025

Zakarya Bezdoode Open the ORCID record for Zakarya Bezdoode [Opens in a new window]
Zakarya Bezdoode*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of English Literature, Faculty of Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan; Part-time Researcher of Kurdistan Studies Institute, University of Kurdistan, Iran
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This research delves into the works of contemporary Kurdish novelist Sayyed Qadir Hedayati, specifically focusing on two of his novels: Bull Roar and Bardinah. These selected novels fall within the Bildungsroman genre, a category not commonly explored in Kurdish literature. The scarcity of such novels in the language prompted the investigation into the underlying reasons for their emergence in Hedayati's works. While Bildungsroman focuses on the formation of the individual, Hedayati's novels, very much like the early German cases of the genre, delineate the social and cultural concerns of a community. Through analysis, it is revealed that Kurdish Bildungsroman can flourish within specific historical and political contexts. The driving force behind the plot of these novels lies in the quest for identity in a controversial historical and political context. Hedayati utilizes the Bildungsroman genre to amplify the voices of a community that has grappled with marginalization. By doing so, he invites readers to immerse themselves in the intricate fabric of Kurdish life and development.

Keywords

Kurdish novelidentityKurdish historySayyed Qadir HedayatiKurdish Bildungsroman
Type
Article
Information
Iranian Studies , First View , pp. 1 - 15
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Association for Iranian Studies

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