In or Between the Cultures: Hybridity in American Dervish

Year 2021, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 139 - 148, 30.04.2021

Tuba Baykara , Ercan Kaçmaz

https://doi.org/10.29110/soylemdergi.881481

Abstract

This study analyzes American Dervish in the light of Homi Bhabha’s cultural theory. As a postcolonial theorist, Bhabha who also had a colonial past has made significant contributions to cultural studies. He conceptualizes hybridity, third space, in-betweenness, or mimicry to shed light on the cultural interactions in the shade of colonial traces. His theory which draws attention to the impossibility of pure culture is used in this study to discover Shah family’s migrant life. Pakistani descent-American author Ayad Akthar depicts immigrant Muslims’ life in America based primarily on his own multicultural experiences. This study tries to shed light on Shah family’s life in America through multicultural perspectives. The primary aim of this study is to depict how Hayat, the protagonist of the book, constructs his hybrid identity to cope with his dilemmas between two separate cultures at the crossroads of cultures, religions and social norms.

Keywords

Homi Bhabha, Hybridization, Identity, Ayad Akhtar, American Dervish, Islam

Kültürler İçinde ya da Arasında: Amerikan Derviş'te Melezlik Kavramı

Abstract

Bu çalışma Amerikan Derviş adlı romanı Homi Bhabha’nın kültürel teorisi ışığında irdelemektedir. Postkolonyal bir kuramcı olarak, sömürge geçmişi de olan Bhabha’nın kültürel çalışmalara önemli katkıları olmuştur. Bhabha, sömürgeciliğin izlerinin gölgesinde kültürel etkileşimlere ışık tutmak için melezlik, üçüncü alan, aradalık ya da taklitçilik gibi kavramları somutlaştırmaktadır. Salt kültürlerin olanaksızlığına dikkat çeken kuramı, bu çalışmada Shah ailesinin göçmen hayatını keşfetmek üzere kullanılmıştır. Pakistan kökenli Amerikalı yazar Ayad Akhtar, aslında kendi çok kültürlü deneyimlerinden yola çıkarak Amerika’daki göçmen Müslüman yaşamı resmetmektedir. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, kitabın kahramanı olan Hayat’ın kültürler, dinler ve toplumsal kaideler kavşağındaki iki ayrı kültürün arasında ikilemleriyle başa çıkabilmek için nasıl melez bir kimlik oluşturduğunu göstermektir.

Keywords

Homi Bhabha, Ayad Akhtar, American Dervish, Melezlik, Kimlik, Islam

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