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Title RESILIENCE AND SURVIVAL: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SELECTED AFGHAN EMIGRANT LITERARY TEXTS

Author(s) Naheed Anjum

Abstract Title: Resilience and Survival: A Comparative Study of the Selected Afghan Emigrant Literary Texts In this research, the narratives of resilience and survival of Afghan emigrants who were forcibly displaced from Afghanistan during periods of war, violence and political conflict are explored. This study investigates the survival narratives of Afghan emigrants by examining their translocational positionality, mental health challenges and their resilience. For this purpose, the study utilizes the conceptual framework built on Floya Anthias’s theory of Translocational Positionality, Farah N. Mawani’s concept of ‘Social Determinants of Refugees Mental Health’ and Morton Beiser’s concept of Personal and Social Forms of Resilience (2014) to conduct a comparative analysis of Tamim Ansari’s memoir West of Kabul: East of New York (2002), Fowzia Karimi’s novel Above Us the Milky Way (2020) and Nadia Hashimi’s novel Sparks Like Stars (2021). A comparative analysis of the selected Afghan emigrant’s narratives explore thematic similarities and differences to understand the diversity of challenges faced by Afghan emigrants in their struggle for survival in the host land. The study suggests a shift in positionality of emigrants and refugees by examining their life narratives through the standpoint of resilience and survival rather than victimhood. Each selected text offers unique insights that contribute to a nuanced understanding of psychosocial and cultural challenges faced by Afghan emigrants in a post-conflict context and their resilience in their struggle for survival. The comparative analysis as a research method facilitated in the identification and understanding of the similarities and differences within the selected texts, revealing nuanced variations in Afghan emigrant’s narratives of resilience and survival. This study is significant as it presents the life-narratives of people from war-torn areas, contributing to the growing body of literature that explores the experiences of emigrant and refugees in relation to war, migration and resettlement.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-07-25

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