Precarity, Hope, Resilience: Memories of a Potential Future in Afghanistan Pubblico

Abstract

Afghanistan has endured more than four decades of instability. Many of the foreign policies concerning Afghanistan from countries like the United States and the former Sovet Union were ineffective in producing their expectant results, instead further destabilizing the country. This thesis argues that foreign policy and international development is aided by the inclusion of written forms of autobiographical writing in decision-making processes. I synthesize thematic lessons from memoirs by Fawzia Koofi, a prominent Afghan politician, and Tamim Ansary, a notable Afghan American author. This thesis also translates and evaluates Dari poetry from Afghan writers Parween Pazhwak, Homeira Nakhat, and Azizullah Ima. By Analyzing memoirs and poetry within a postcolonial framework, this paper demonstrates the impact that stories can have on policies introduced and discussed in Afghanistan. Memoir and poetry elucidate the emotive, subjective reality that many Afghans experience in the environment of numerous failed interventions and policies. In short, this thesis aims to illuminate the power of storytelling in cultivating empathetic, humanistic, and people-centric foreign policy and scholarship.

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Chapter 1: Navigating Womanhood in Afghanistan…………..…………..…………………….. 8

Chapter 2: Biculturalism and Unintended Consequences…………...…….……………………. 29

Chapter 3: Surveying Afghanistan in Poetry…………...………………….…………………… 50

Last Words……………………………………………………………………………………… 64

Bibliography………………...…………………………………………….……………...…….. 68

About this Honors Thesis

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Emory College
Department	Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, Middle Eastern Political Science, International Relations History, Middle Eastern
Parola chiave	Memoir Afghanistan Memory International development Dari Persian Poetry
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Kim Loudermilk, Emory University
Committee Members	Hossein Samei, Emory University Cynthia Blakeley, Emory University

Ultima modifica

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Precarity, Hope, Resilience: Memories of a Potential Future in Afghanistan ()	2021-04-26 12:48:43 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions