DOCSLIB.ORG

Imagining the Perpetrator in Iraq War Fiction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Imagining the Perpetrator in Iraq War Fiction Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Imagining the Perpetrator in Iraq War Fiction: Evan Wright’s Generation Kill and Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds Supervisor: Paper submitted in partial Dr. Tobi Smethurst fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of “Master in de Taal- en Letterkunde: Engels – Nederlands” by Karen De Loof May 2016 Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Tobi Smethurst, for her help with providing great sources and for answering all my questions. Secondly, I would like to refer to two courses that inspired me to write a thesis on the subject of trauma theory, which are Dr. Philippe Codde’s “Contemporary American Literature” and Dr. Stef Craps’ “Contemporary English Literature”. The cross-cultural subjects handled in these two courses gave rise to my interest in how literature, 21th century conflicts and trauma theory are interwoven. I would also especially like to thank my mother who took the time to proofread my whole thesis and bibliography and advised me to make spelling corrections where needed. Also a big thank you to all my family and friends for keeping me motivated by showing much interest in my dissertation. Table of contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Historical Framework .......................................................................................... 3 2.2 Contemporary Trauma Studies ............................................................................ 9 2.3 Perpetrator Trauma ............................................................................................. 18 2.3.1 Perpetrator Studies ............................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Combat ................................................................................................. 20 3. Introduction to Primary Sources ...................................................................................... 25 3.1 Iraq War .............................................................................................................. 25 3.2 Primary Sources ................................................................................................. 30 4. Close Reading .................................................................................................................. 35 4.1 Gradual Disillusionment .................................................................................... 35 4.2 During Combat: Insidious Trauma ..................................................................... 40 4.3 Rationalization ................................................................................................... 48 4.4 Coming Home .................................................................................................... 53 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 67 Works cited .......................................................................................................................... 71 Word count: 22 797 1. Introduction In my master dissertation I will explore the link between trauma studies and perpetrator fiction, more particularly with a focus on Iraq War fiction. The two novels I will discuss are Evan Wright’s Generation Kill and Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds. In these two Iraq War novels both authors draw attention to the involvement in overwhelming warfare and define the mental state of the individual soldiers. However, the novels wield contrasting perspectives. While Evan Wright takes up the position of an outsider -he is an embedded reporter who finds himself witnessing severe combat without actually participating-, Kevin Powers takes up the position of the veteran as he translates his own direct combat experiences and struggles. I particularly chose these two novels considering that the divergent view of a reporter and soldier on warfare offers an interesting starting point for my research. By drawing on a close reading of Generation Kill and The Yellow Birds I discuss the way in which these novels offer a thorough representation of the position of the Iraq War soldiers within the realms of trauma studies. My aim is to purvey a comparative study that shows an analysis of the structure of my two novels linked with trauma theory. To achieve this research question I will firstly give an overview of the origins of trauma theory, referring to trauma pioneers and their theories. In addition, I will look at contemporary trauma studies and refer to the core concepts of trauma. Subsequently, I will focus on the particular perpetrator studies and discuss trauma features typically linked to combat trauma. After my theoretical framework I will introduce the specifics of the Iraq War in order to then situate my two primary sources within the correct historical framework. I will then analyze my two books via a close reading in which I focus on four main aspects: the gradual disillusionment among soldiers, the insidious trauma in combat situations, the justification of their perpetrated actions and the aftermath of trauma. By exploring these four elements I am able to compare the 1 structure of the two novels and show how they deal with moral questions and the aftermath related to combat. Finally, I aim to conclude with a coherent overview of my findings. 2 2. Theoretical Framework In order to arrive at a coherent and correct understanding of the concept trauma, I will firstly investigate the origins of the term ‘trauma’. Therefore, I give a chronological overview of how the concept ‘trauma’ changed in meaning over the last decennia, and how it was used in different contexts. 2.1 Historical Framework Nowadays trauma is commonly defined as a disorder of memory: An overwhelming set of emotions of terror caused by certain events, cause the mind to split or dissociate: it is unable to register the wound to the psyche because the ordinary mechanisms of awareness and cognition are destroyed. As a result, the victim is unable to recollect and integrate the hurtful experience in normal consciousness: instead, she is haunted or possessed by intrusive traumatic memories. These memories intrude the victim’s mind generally through symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, numbing, guilt, violence… (Leys 2) This definition stated by Ruth Leys in her book Trauma: A Genealogy is a contemporary interpretation of trauma. The term was reinterpreted multiple times throughout the years. For example, it changed from being interpreted as a physical notion to a mere wounding of the mind. To describe the chronological process I will firstly address the original understanding of the term, and will then focus on the three main elements that helped to define the contemporary term trauma: Freud’s interpretation of hysteria, the reinterpretation after World War I and the meaning after the Vietnam war, which lead to the contemporary notion of Post 3 Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, I will also focus on the stages of recovery; how a person diagnosed with traumatic symptoms was treated and how this notion evolved as well. Ruth Leys mentions in her definition of trauma ‘to register the wound to the psyche’. The use of the word ‘psyche’ already indicates a break with the original meaning and use of the concept trauma. The original use of the term trauma denoted a surgical wound, thus it was a physical term: a literal injury to the body (Leys 19). However, it was expanded with a psychological usage soon afterwards: the shock that causes the wound. The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, adds to this interpretation the idea that an unexpected shock can also wound the mind. An event that takes place too soon, too suddenly, too unexpectedly to be fully grabbed by consciousness, is defined as a traumatic accident (Caruth, “Unclaimed” 101). The lack of preparedness of the mind for this sudden event causes a wound in the psyche. The event is not fully grasped at the moment of occurrence, therefore it is not processed and experienced as a normal incident. Consequently, the meaning of trauma was expanded; as it now marked a psychological interpretation as well. As claimed in Trauma: A Genealogy, the mind cannot handle the increase of stimulus as this is too powerful to be worked off in the normal way (23). This does not exclude occasions where physical and psychological reactions to a devastating event can go hand in hand. William Sargant, a British psychiatrist, recounts a case where a man’s right hand was paralyzed. When the soldier was in the fields, he came across his own brother, who was severely wounded. His brother asked to shoot him in order to release him from his misery and pain. It was the hand that pulled the trigger that became paralyzed afterwards. After he confessed the incident and his feelings of guilt and grief, the hand started working again (Leys 192). Whilst narrating the past traumatic event, his paralyzed hand gradually began to heal. This anecdote illustrates the importance of confession; I will discuss this in my second chapter. 4 Trauma came into public attention when neurologist Sigmund Freud and psychologist Pierre Janet were looking for an explanation for ‘female hysteria’. They both agreed that a psychological trauma could explain this hysterical behavior
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Intimate Perspectives from the Battlefields of Iraq
    'The Best Covered War in History': Intimate Perspectives from the Battlefields of Iraq by Andrew J. McLaughlin A thesis presented to the University Of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2017 © Andrew J. McLaughlin 2017 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner Marco Rimanelli Professor, St. Leo University Supervisor(s) Andrew Hunt Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Member Jasmin Habib Associate Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Member Roger Sarty Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University Internal-external Member Brian Orend Professor, University of Waterloo ii Author's Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract This study examines combat operations from the 2003 invasion of Iraq War from the “ground up.” It utilizes unique first-person accounts that offer insights into the realities of modern warfare which include effects on soldiers, the local population, and journalists who were tasked with reporting on the action. It affirms the value of media embedding to the historian, as hundreds of journalists witnessed major combat operations firsthand. This line of argument stands in stark contrast to other academic assessments of the embedding program, which have criticized it by claiming media bias and military censorship. Here, an examination of the cultural and social dynamics of an army at war provides agency to soldiers, combat reporters, and innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.
    [Show full text]
  • American War Fiction from Vietnam to Iraq Elizabeth Eggert Macalester College, [email protected]
    Macalester College DigitalCommons@Macalester College English Honors Projects English Department 2018 Shifting Binaries: American War Fiction from Vietnam to Iraq Elizabeth Eggert Macalester College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/english_honors Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Eggert, Elizabeth, "Shifting Binaries: American War Fiction from Vietnam to Iraq" (2018). English Honors Projects. 42. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/english_honors/42 This Honors Project - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the English Department at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Shifting Binaries: American War Fiction from Vietnam to Iraq By Elizabeth Eggert Honors Thesis Presented to the Macalester College English Department Faculty Advisor: James Dawes April 5, 2018 Acknowledgements First and foremost, thank you to my advisor, Jim Dawes, for his support in the development, editing, and completion of this project. I would also like to thank Penelope Geng and Karin Aguilar-San Juan for the time they spent reading and commenting on this paper. Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for their support, encouragement, and listening during this lengthy process. Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Boundaries of Empathy in The Things They Carried 11 Chapter Two: In the Lake of the Woods and Memory 22 Chapter Three: Solipsism and the Absent Enemy in The Yellow Birds 34 Chapter Four: Redeployment and the Limits of the War Novel 47 Conclusion 60 Eggert 1 Introduction Poet and Vietnam War veteran Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Missing in Action” is constructed around a binary of an ‘us’ versus a ‘them.’ The poem appears in Komunyakaa’s second full-length book of poetry, Dien Cai Dau1, which focused on his experiences serving in Vietnam.
    [Show full text]
  • Generation Kill (The Novel and the HBO Series) and One Bullet Away
    Three Perspectives of the Iraq War: Generation Kill (the novel and the HBO Series) and One Bullet Away Feješ, Marko Undergraduate thesis / Završni rad 2015 Degree Grantor / Ustanova koja je dodijelila akademski / stručni stupanj: Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences / Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Filozofski fakultet Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:142:994742 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-10-02 Repository / Repozitorij: FFOS-repository - Repository of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Osijek Sveučilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku Filozofski fakultet Preddiplomski studij: Engleski jezik i književnost - pedagogija Three Perspectives on the Iraq War: Generation Kill (the Novel and the HBO Series) and One Bullet Away Završni rad Marko Feješ Mentor: izv. prof. dr. sc. Sanja Runtić Sumentor: dr. sc. Jasna Poljak Rehlicki Lipanj, 2015. Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………… ....... 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. ....... 2 1. An Overview of War Journalism……………………………………………………… 5 2. An Officer’s Position and Perspective……………………………………………….... 8 3. Enlisted Men’s Position and Perspective………………………………………….. ...... 9 4. Battle of Nasiriyah……………………………………………………………….. ..... .10 4.1. A Journalist’s Perspective………………………………………………… .. 10 4.2. An Officer’s Perspective……………………………………………………. 11 4.3. Enlisted Men’s Perspective……………………………………………... ..... 12 5. Battle of Al Muwaffaqiyah……………………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • Walthall 1 Bill Walthall Professor J
    Walthall 1 Bill Walthall Professor J. Donica LIT 515: 20th Century American Literature October 16, 2016 The Yellow Birds: A Classic Modern ​ No experience of a literary work happens in a vacuum. As a reader, one is affected (and, in a sense, effected) by what has been read before. The writer is no different, taking his own history of reading and putting it into the context of his life experience to forge a new work. Wartime can become a crucible for such creation, as in modern American fiction from Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms though Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut to O’Brien’s The ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Things They Carried. The combat experiences that help create the war novel can also destroy the ​ character within it. John Bartle, from Kevin Powers’ Iraq War novel The Yellow Birds, suffers ​ ​ from an unnamed mental condition that brings to mind posttraumatic stress disorder--PTSD. His unit-mates Sterling and Murphy suffer through the same Iraqi spring and summer of 2004, but while they succumb to suicides (active and passive, respectively), Bartle reaches the novel’s end alive and on the road to emotional recovery. In a text that draws upon Powers’ own experiences in the U.S. Army in Iraq, the narrator Bartle can be seen as Powers’ surrogate in a kind of bildungs-roman à clef, something of a cross between a coming-of-age story and a memoir with ​ only a shell of fictionalization around it. In a simple narrative reading of The Yellow Birds, ​ ​ Bartle’s descent into PTSD is chronicled, and his recovery is achieved by gaining geographical and temporal remove from the war; in a more nuanced reading of the novel, however, Powers’ metafictional use of nonlinear structure and present-tense insertions, along with his intertextual Walthall 2 allusions--to works from authors as varied as Melville, Vonnegut, and Shakespeare--make the literary experience one of not merely character recovery, but authorial healing as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Suffered by Private John Bartle in Kevin Powers' the Yellow Birds
    POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER SUFFERED BY PRIVATE JOHN BARTLE IN KEVIN POWERS' THE YELLOW BIRDS THESIS By: Faizal Yusuf Satriawan NIM 16320135 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG 2020 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER SUFFERED BY PRIVATE JOHN BARTLE IN KEVIN POWERS' THE YELLOW BIRDS THESIS Presented to Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra (S.S.) By: Faizal Yusuf Satriawan NIM 16320135 Advisor: Muzakki Afifuddin, M.Pd. NIP 19761011 201101 1005 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG 2020 ii STATEMENT OF RESEARCHER SHIP I state that the thesis entitled "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Suffered by Private John Bartle in Kevin Powers' The Yellow Birds" is my original work. I do not include any materials previously written or published by another person, except those ones that are cited as references and written in the bibliography. Hereby, if there is an objection or claim, I am the only person who is responsible for that. Malang, June 19th 2020 The Researcher Faizal Yusuf Satriawan. NIM 16320135 iii APPROVAL SHEET This is to certify that Faizal Yusuf Satriawan's thesis entitled Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Suffered by Private John Bartle in Kevin Powers' The Yellow Birds has been approved for thesis examination at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang, as one of the requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra (S.S.). Malang, June 19th 2020 Approved by Advisor, Head of Department of English Literature, Muzakki Afifuddin, M.Pd.
    [Show full text]
  • Memory and the Sensations of War in Vergil's Aeneid and Kevin Powers
    ANKE WALTER, “What it felt like”: Memory and the Sensations of War in Vergil’s Aeneid and Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds, in: Annemarie Ambühl (ed.), Krieg der Sinne – Die Sinne im Krieg. Kriegsdarstellungen im Spannungsfeld zwischen antiker und moderner Kultur / War of the Senses – The Senses in War. Interactions and tensions between representations of war in classical and modern culture = thersites 4 (2016), 275-312. KEYWORDS war; senses; memory; Vergil; Aeneid; novel; Iraq; Kevin Powers; The Yellow Birds ABSTRACT (English) The Nisus and Euryalus episode in the ninth book of Vergil’s Aeneid and Kevin Powers’ 2012 novel The Yellow Birds on a soldier’s experiences in the year 2004 during the American War in Iraq are both constructed around a very similar story pattern of two friends who go to war together and are faced with bloodlust, cruelty, death, mutilation, and the duties of friendship, as well as the grief and silencing of a bereft mother. While the narrative and commemorative background of the two texts is very different – including the sense of an anchoring in tradition, the role of memory, even the existence of a coherent plotline itself – both the Augustan epic and the modern novel employ strikingly similar techniques and sensory imagery in their bid to convey the fundamental experience of warfare and of “what it felt like” as vividly as possible. ABSTRACT (German) Die Episode von Nisus und Euryalus im neunten Buch der Aeneis Vergils und Kevin Powers’ Roman The Yellow Birds (2012) über die Erfahrungen eines Soldaten im Jahr 2004 während des amerikanischen Krieges gegen den Irak sind um ein sehr ähnliches Handlungsschema herum konstruiert: Es geht um zwei Freunde, die zusammen in den Krieg ziehen und mit blutigem Morden, Grausamkeit, Tod, Verstümmelung und den Pflichten der Freundschaft konfrontiert werden, ebenso wie um die Trauer der Mutter, die zum Schweigen gebracht wird.
    [Show full text]
  • In Evan Wright's Generation Kill
    International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science Vol. 8 No. 11 November 2020 Deconstructing the Discursive Frames of the ‘War on Terror’ in Evan Wright’s Generation Kill Maram Elayyan University of Jordan, Jordan- Amman Email: [email protected] Published: 30 November 2020 Copyright © Elayyan. Abstract Relatively few studies have systematically examined the ways literary novels are interrelated and interconnected with media‘s structuring of meaning. This paper analyzes Generation Kill 2004, the narrative of Evan Wright who was an embedded reporter that joined a Platoon of First Recon Marines during the first two months of the invasion on Iraq, on its debunking of discursive media frames of the ‗War on Terror‘. This article employed close reading to answer how Generation Kill blurs the boundary between fact and fiction and how it challenges media‘s framing of Muslims as barbarous terrorists. In addition to this, Generation Kill deflates the American Exceptionalism frame by showing its insincerity and falsehood. Analysis revealed that Western media intentionally structured several dominant frames that represented Muslims as terrorist ‗other‘ and represented Americans as exceptional. The study, however, concludes that Wright‘s literary representation of the war experience helped debunk media‘s discursive frames that were driven and influenced by racial discriminations and Islamophobia. Key words: ‗War on Terror‘, Framing, Islamophobia, the Other, American Exceptionalism Introduction Western mainstream media have established specific frames to promote the ‗War on Terror‘ rhetoric among the Western public post -9/11. This study argues that Evan Wright‘s Generation Kill (2004) challenges two of the predominant frames during the invasion on Iraq in 2003.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Truth in the War Narrative Ian Drew Regis University
    Regis University ePublications at Regis University All Regis University Theses Spring 2015 Finding Truth in the War Narrative Ian Drew Regis University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.regis.edu/theses Recommended Citation Drew, Ian, "Finding Truth in the War Narrative" (2015). All Regis University Theses. 640. https://epublications.regis.edu/theses/640 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by ePublications at Regis University. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Regis University Theses by an authorized administrator of ePublications at Regis University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Regis University Regis College Honors Theses Disclaimer Use of the materials available in the Regis University Thesis Collection (“Collection”) is limited and restricted to those users who agree to comply with the following terms of use. Regis University reserves the right to deny access to the Collection to any person who violates these terms of use or who seeks to or does alter, avoid or supersede the functional conditions, restrictions and limitations of the Collection. The site may be used only for lawful purposes. The user is solely responsible for knowing and adhering to any and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations relating or pertaining to use of the Collection. All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • TY HAWKINS Chair and Associate Professor / Department of English Irby Hall 317I, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR 72034 501.450.3674 / [email protected]
    TY HAWKINS Chair and Associate Professor / Department of English Irby Hall 317I, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR 72034 501.450.3674 / [email protected] Education Ph.D. in English Saint Louis University (May 2010) St. Louis, MO Primary Areas: Twentieth-Century and Twenty-First-Century American Literature Secondary Areas: American Cultural Rhetoric, American War Literature, Writing Pedagogy Qualifying exams passed with “Great Distinction” Dissertation: “Combat’s Implacable Allure: Reading Vietnam amid the War on Terror” M.A. in English Saint Louis University (May 2005) St. Louis, MO Thesis: “Quidditas Under Erasure, Claritas Deferred, Opposites Reconciled: The Dedalean Aesthetic and the Joycean Subject” B.A. in English and Spanish Westminster College (May 2002) Fulton, MO Magna cum laude Thesis: “Long Day: A Novel” Positions Held Department Chair and Associate Professor of English, University of Central Arkansas, July 2019-present Associate Professor of English, Walsh University, Summer 2016-July 2019 Director of the Honors Program, Walsh University, July 2015-July 2019 Incoming Director of the Honors Program, Walsh University, November 2014-June 2015 Coordinator of the Composition Program, Walsh University, Spring 2012-November 2014 Assistant Professor of English, Walsh University, Fall 2011-Spring 2016 Adjunct Assistant Professor of English, University of Illinois at Springfield, Spring 2011 Instructor of English and Honors, Saint Louis University, Fall 2003-Summer 2011 Publications Monographs Just War Theory in an Age of Terror: An Introduction with Readings, with Andrew Kim (in progress and solicited for review by the University of Notre Dame Press) Cormac McCarthy’s Philosophy. American Literature Readings in the 21st Century ser. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • Read—For the Win! Public Library Programming for Active Duty
    Read—For the Win! 7 Public Library Programming for Active Duty Service Personnel, Veterans, and Their Families Birmingham, Alabama, 1919. This banner from the Birmingham Public Library welcomed returning World War I veterans. Introduction Introduction Libraries are an important resource for all Americans. They remain a critical source of information, entertainment, technology, and programs for all ages. Additionally, even in our segmented digital age, libraries serve as a significant source of community. For military families, this is true in cities, towns, and rural areas as well as military installations around the world. As librarians, what can we do to serve families of those engaged in military service, both within our communities and on military installations worldwide? On military bases and installations, libraries provide both traditional collections and valuable technology resources. Military spouses and children, far from home and new to a base, can find immediate community for the whole family at their installa- tion’s library. Beginning in late 2001 National Guard and Reserve units from communities across the United States have been activated and deployed overseas, with more than 300,000 soldiers called to action. More than half a million children have one or both parents serving in the Guard or Reserves. Many Reservists and National Guard members never expected to be away from home for more than one weekend a month. The impact of the “deployment cycle” (predeployment, deployment, and reunion) on these soldiers and their families is very stressful. Therefore, for military families during these times, a sense of connection, both with other military families and to the larger community, is vitally important.
    [Show full text]
  • The Representation of the Iraq War in Selected Anglo-American and Iraqi Novels
    The Representation of the Iraq War in Selected Anglo-American and Iraqi Novels Pshtiwan Faraj Mohammed A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Arts and Humanities Brunel University London November 2015 Abstract This thesis explores representation of the Iraq War in selected Anglo-American and Iraqi novels, examining how several authors have employed this theme in their narratives. The featured novelists are chosen from many writers who focus their efforts and their writing on this conflict. Criterion for selection included offering a critique of the diverse perspectives from which the conflict was perceived, the texts‘ engagement with the political conundrums underpinning war and its approach, how such fiction engages with a contemporary audience and what perspective are deployed to do so. Their public visibility provides the basis of one interpretative strand of the thesis. This study also explores and conceptualises how this conflict has entered the cultural consciousness and to what degree the novels fictionalise the conflict as their main subject, and assesses through which thematic emphases. The texts chosen and to be analysed are pivotal to our understanding of contemporary Iraq and its recent history. It will be argued that the thematic content of these texts contextualise modern war‘s multiple effects within not only the fictional textual world, but as well as their imaginative characters these representations become part of the experience at least vicariously of the audiences who read them. The texts discussed in subsequent chapters are either originally written in, or translated into English (for publication), and therefore all available in English, one major criterion of textual selection.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitor Newsletter October 03, 2005
    Bowling Green State University ScholarWorks@BGSU Monitor University Publications 10-3-2005 Monitor Newsletter October 03, 2005 Bowling Green State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/monitor Recommended Citation Bowling Green State University, "Monitor Newsletter October 03, 2005" (2005). Monitor. 1576. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/monitor/1576 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Monitor by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@BGSU. BGSU .. - ,_--·-.... !t - ·- ,: ~: _,.. ..., . - OCTOBER 3, 2005 <- -~ ·t--.ii :~:..~- :~_;~,_.:;~·,.:.,_: ' ·----' BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY > Top Stories Trustees extend alternative retirement plan to classified staff In Brief Many BGSU classified staff members may now choose an alternative retirement plan. Calendar The board of trustees on Sept 30 expanded the option to classified staff to comply with a re­ Job Postings cent change in Ohio law that extended eligibility for participation in such a plan to all full-time employees of public colleges and universities. Obituaries Full-time faculty and administrative staff gained the alternative retirement plan option in Janu­ ary 1999, but classified staff members weren't eligible under the law at that time. Thomas Trimboli, general counsel, said the option will be available to newly hired classified staff and to those with less than five years' service at the University as of last Aug. 1. The amendment to BGSU's plan allows participants to divide their retirement account among multiple providers, he added. Lorrie Sawaie, Student Academic Achievement and vice chair of Classified Staff Council, welcomed the board's action and said "it brings some equity across the playing field." On another matter, the trustees endorsed the establishment of a non-profit research institute to promote commercialization of faculty-developed innovations.
    [Show full text]