Leila Essa
LightNews LightNews
banner
leilaessai.bsky.social
Leila Essa
@leilaessai.bsky.social
590 followers 280 following 430 posts
assistant professor of comparative literature at utrecht uni. projects on post-partition lit & authorial politics. current research and writing at https://intervention.sites.uu.nl/. she/her.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
leilaessai.bsky.social
Leila Essa @leilaessai.bsky.social · Jul 10
a quick research blog update with lovely book news and much gratitude for anna bernard's solidarity talk at utrecht last month and for the "for now" conference organisers in berlin last week

intervention.sites.uu.nl/2025/07/10/f...
For now
The book that I mentioned in my last post is taking shape: Marta Cenedese and I have just signed a contract with Bloomsbury Academic for our edited volume Activist Writing / Activist Reading. We are v...
intervention.sites.uu.nl
leilaessai.bsky.social
through week 2 of this now, in which we looked at short stories of displacement in the contexts of Partition, the Nakba, the Holocaust, and the Black diaspora and the students gave such insightful close and comparative readings
leilaessai.bsky.social Leila Essa @leilaessai.bsky.social · 17d
prepping my first lecture for the Migration and Diaspora course next week and honestly cannot wait to teach my new syllabus
Weekly Overview 2025/26 All mandatory set reading is available in the course reader (except for the novel in Week 6). All optional recommended reading is available via the UU library or linked below. Week 1: Introduction Lecture Wednesday 12 November Seminars Friday 14 November Set Academic Reading: - Sara Ahmed, ‘Home and Away: Narratives of Migration and Estrangement’ (1999) - Anne Potjans, Anja Sunhyun Michaelsen, Elahe Haschemi Yekani, Thao Ho and Fenja Akinde-Hummel (research group Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary), ‘A Conversation on Diaspora’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Paul Gilroy, ‘Diaspora’, Paragraph 17 (1994): 207-212 - Michel Bruneau, ‘Diasporas, transnational spaces and communities’ in Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, ed. by Rainer Bauböck and Thomas Faist (Amsterdam University Press, 2010), pp. 35-49 Week 2: Short Stories of Displacement (1950s-1980s) Lecture Wednesday 19 November Seminars Friday 21 November Set Literary Reading: - Saadat Hasan Manto, ‘Toba Tek Singh’ (first published in 1955, translated from Urdu) - Samira Azzam, ‘Another Year’ (first published around the 1950s or 60s, translated from Arabic) - Isaac Bashevis Singer, ‘The Letter Writer’ (first published in 1968, translated from Yiddish) - Ntozake Shange, ‘aw, babee, you so pretty’ (first published around the 1970s or 80s) Recommended Reading: - Leslie A. Flemming, ‘Riots and Refugees: The Post-Partiton Stories of Saadat Hasan Manto’, Journal of South Asian Literature, 13 (1977): 99–109 - Yasir Suleiman, ‘Palestine and the Palestinians in the Short Stories of Samira Azzam’, Journal of Arabic Literature, 22 (1991): 154-165 - Leonard Kriegel, ‘This World and That Shtetl: The Short Fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer’, The Sewanee Review, 113 (2005): 332-337 - Elizabeth Brown-Guillory, ‘Ntozake Shange: A Cultural War Correspondent—an Interview.” CLA Journal (2019): 111-131 Week 3: Essays on the Borders of Language (1980s-1990s) Lecture Wednesday 26 November Seminars Friday 28 November Set Literary Reading: - Etel Adnan, ‘To Write in a Foreign Language’ (first published in 1984 or 1989) - Gloria Anzaldúa, ‘The Homeland, Aztlán: El otro México’, ‘How to Tame a Wild Tongue’, and ‘Tlilli, Tlapalli: The Path of the Red and Black Ink’ (first published in 1987) - Astrid Roemer, ‘In Search of My Own Voice’ (dated 1995, first published in 1997) Recommended Reading: - Jennifer Scappettone, ‘“Fog is My Land”: A Citizenship of Mutual Estrangement in the Painted Books of Etel Adnan’, in Reading Experimental Writing, ed. by Georgina Colby (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), pp. 15-50 - Azade Seyhan, ‘At Different Borders/On Common Grounds’, in Writing Outside the Nation (Princeton University Press, 2001), pp. 116-145 - Yra van Dijk and Ghanima Kowsoleea, ‘A Central Voice in Caribbean Literature: Media and Memory in the Novels of Astrid Roemer’, NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 96 (2022): 29–54. Week 4: Poetry of Exile (1990s-2000s) Lecture Wednesday 3 December Seminars Friday 5 December Set Literary Reading: - Mahmoud Darwish, poems from The Butterfly’s Burden (first published between 1998 and 2003, translated from Arabic) Set Academic Reading: - Refqa Abu-Remaileh, ‘Country of Words: Palestinian Literature in the Digital Age of the Refugee’ (2021) - Also explore Abu-Remaileh’s literary maps interactively at https://countryofwords.org/ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Charlotte Salmi, ‘“A Necessary Forgetfulness of the Memory of Place”: Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry of No Return’, Interventions, 14 (2012): 55–68 - Edward Said, ‘Reflections of Exile’, Granta, 13 (1984), https://granta.com/reflections-on-exile/ Week 5: Anthologies of Belonging Across Contexts (2010s) Lecture Wednesday 10 December Seminars Friday 12 December Set Literary Reading: - excerpts from The Good Immigrant (first published in 2016): Nikesh Shukla, ‘Editor’s Note’ and ‘Namaste’ Vinay Patel, ‘Death is a Many-Headed Monster’ Musa Okwonga, ‘The Ungrateful Country’ - excerpts from The Good Immigrant USA (first published in 2019): Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman, ‘Editors’ Note’ Porochista Khakpour, ‘How to Write Iranian-America, or The Last Essay’ Chimene Suleyman, ‘On Being Kim Kardashian’ - excerpts from Your Homeland is Our Nightmare (first published in 2019, translated from German): Fatma Aydemir and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah, ‘Foreword to the Collection’ Sasha Marianna Salzmann, ‘Visible’ Deniz Utlu, ‘Trust’ Set Academic Reading: - Rehana Ahmed, ‘“We tick: Other”– race, religion, and literary solidarities in three essay anthologies and the neo-liberal marketplace’ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Saha and van Lente, ‘The Limits of Diversity: How Publishing Industries Make Race’, International Journal of Communication, 16 (2022): 1804-1822 (open access). - for those who can read Dutch: De Goede Immigrant, edited by Anousha Nzume, Ebissé Wakjira-Rouw and Mariam El Maslohui (Uitgeverij Pluim, 2020) Week 6 A Novel of ‘Postmigration’? (2020s) Lecture Wednesday 17 December Seminars Friday 19 December Set Literary Reading: - Mithu Sanyal, Identitti (first published in 2021, translated from German) Set Academic Reading: - Leila Essa, ‘Seen as Friendly, Seen as Frightening? A Conversation on Visibilities, Kinship and the Right Words with Mithu Sanyal’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Anna Meera Gaonkar, Astrid Sophie Øst Hansen, Hans Christian Post, and Moritz Schramm, ‘Introduction’, in Postmigration: Art, Culture and Politics in Contemporary Europe (Transcript, 2021), pp. 11-42 - Sophie Schweiger, ‘Intertextual Identittis? Sanyal’s Ambiguous Acts of Appropriation’, Genealogy+Critique, 9 (2023): 1-21 After the break: in-person paper (see below) and end-of-course excursion (details to be confirmed)
November 21, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Leila Essa
fliglman.bsky.social
I make jokes about how often Sarkozy publishes memoirs, but here he is publishing his "prison memoir" (after serving only 20 days of a five year sentence)
bfmtv.com BFMTV @bfmtv.com · 1d
🔴 Sarkozy sort ses "mémoires" de prison ▶️ https://l.bfmtv.com/saG1
November 21, 2025 at 12:53 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
I got Asako Yuzuki’s Butter in the hope for fun murder mystery and food but it’s gone from supposedly critical but intensely detailed depictions of diet culture and tradwifery to therapy speak 🥲
November 20, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Leila Essa
faisalhamadah.bsky.social
Dont wanna jinx it but wanted to note especially with so much doom in academe, but my teaching has been so incredibly fulfilling and excellent this year; these kids really are all right.
November 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Arthur Russell forever m.youtube.com/watch?v=btXK...
Habit Of You
YouTube video by Arthur Russell - Topic
m.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:22 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Honestly v lucky, this. The city recently renovated one of my least favourite crossroads, seemingly around the principle “now bikes have all the rights and cars have none :)“, and it’s great
modacitylife.com Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 4d
Goedeavond from Utrecht, who today @eiturbanmobility.eu named the most bicycle-friendly city in the world:

“What sets Utrecht apart is that it has understood something paramount long before most others, that the goal is no longer to make space for cycling, but to construct the city around cycling.”
November 19, 2025 at 7:41 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Solidarity with all striking colleagues in the UK
josiah.writes.news Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 5d
Lots of university strikes happening at the moment (from the UCU union) over the funding crisis and cuts in the sector. Via StrikeMap:
University of Nottingham Over 650 jobs already gone, 200 more threatened Demanding guarantee of no compulsory redundancies through 2026 Strike dates: 17-21 Nov, 24-25 Nov, 1-5 Dec, 8-12 Dec University of Sheffield £5 million in savings targeted through redundancies Cuts in five academic areas and professional services Strike dates: 17, 18, 19, 21 Nov; 24-27 Nov; 1, 2, 4, 5 Dec; 9-12 Dec Sheffield Hallam University Over 670 job losses since 2024 Up to 80 more planned Management refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies Strike dates: 17-20 Nov; 1-5 Dec Lancaster University Plans to axe one in four staff Over 400 jobs at risk (200+ academic posts) by July 2026 Already working to rule Strike dates: 27-28 November University of the Highlands and Islands £2 million in job cuts, 16 posts at risk Compulsory redundancies imposed Also action short of strike (working to contract, refusing voluntary duties) Strike dates: 17-18 November
November 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
always odd to recognise other swimmers in the bike parking lot. feels wrong to see them fully dressed
November 16, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Leila Essa
maitelsadany.bsky.social
On Tues, Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah attempted to fly to London to attend two conferences. He was stopped by authorities and told he could not travel.

It's been almost 2 months since Alaa was pardoned. It's time for him to be allowed to travel too www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
British-Egyptian activist stopped from flying to UK, says family
Egyptian authorities prevented Alaa Abd el-Fattah from attending human rights awards in London
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:56 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Four hours of seminar teaching on four hours of sleep (insomnia, baby) made energising by engaged students, we give thanks
November 14, 2025 at 10:57 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Gorki theatre cancelling premiere of Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail due to “dynamics and differences within the cast and artistic production team”, why is Germany so embarrassing
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
1st session of the Publishing course for our MA today. Have been starting it with Percival Everett’s Erasure for the past three years and it’s always a winner. V glad I decided against replacing it with R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface
Two books: Simone Murray’s “Introduction to Contemporary Print Culture” and Percival Everett’s “Erasure”
November 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Leila Essa
sarahcolvin.bsky.social
Publication day! How writers respond to authoritarians www.routledge.com/Literature-a...
Literature and Epistemic Injustice: Power and Resistance in the Contemporary Novel
A vital resource for anyone interested in literature and politics, this is the first in-depth study of epistemic injustice as a concept for literary studies. Focusing on contemporary fiction in an age...
www.routledge.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by Leila Essa
annakornbluh.bsky.social
"the heist film offers audiences a spectacle of highly choreographed expertise. From Rififi to Sneakers to Soderbergh canon (Out of Sight Logan Lucky Oceans 11–13), the genre has generated some of cinema’s most powerful allegories of collective action"

homework: read.dukeupress.edu/south-atlant...
November 11, 2025 at 2:16 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
after the music festival is before the mini poetry festival
miayou.bsky.social Mia You @miayou.bsky.social · 21d
If you’re around Utrecht on 11 November, Biswamit Dwibedy will be in town!
November 10, 2025 at 7:33 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Devendra Banhart at Le Guess Who tomight
November 8, 2025 at 9:57 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
i bought expensive plums in the Steiner-y organic veg shop and they taste of NOTHING, confirming my suspicions and antipathy
leilaessai.bsky.social Leila Essa @leilaessai.bsky.social · Aug 27
From renting a flat to making a doctor’s appointment to drinking a glass of wine, no escape from anthroposophy in this country. Sir, this is a Wendy’s
November 7, 2025 at 10:11 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
no surprises here: a Berlin court has confirmed that the "political activity ban" on Ghassan Abu-Sittah 1,5years ago was against the law – I remember being on a train to Berlin when those news broke; infuriating like almost every encounter with the city in the last two years
isaliba.bsky.social Dr. Ilyas Saliba @isaliba.bsky.social · 16d
Laut Urteil hätte die Ausländerbehörde dem Chirurgen Ghassan Abu-Sittah die Einreise nicht verbieten dürfen.

Wie zu Erwarten stellt das OVG Urteil eine Verletzung der Meinungsfreiheit- und Versammlungsfreiheit fest.
Wird dafür jemand zur Verantwortung gezogen @kaiwegner.bsky.social?
Auftritts-Verbot bei "Palästina-Kongress" in Berlin war rechtswidrig
www.rbb24.de
November 7, 2025 at 9:52 AM
leilaessai.bsky.social
day 2 curls ready for festival day 2 (sorry, I don’t have insta anymore)
morning sun selfie
November 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Reposted by Leila Essa
miayou.bsky.social
If you’re around Utrecht on 11 November, Biswamit Dwibedy will be in town!
November 1, 2025 at 1:39 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
Just learned that the interviewer here is the wonderful Bhakti Shringarpure of @radicalbooks.bsky.social, full interview here www.warscapes.com/conversation...
November 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Leila Essa
leilaessai.bsky.social
Quick new blog post on the work on the Kurt-Tucholsky-Preis, for which you can also read Maryam Aras' acceptance speech now - see next post! intervention.sites.uu.nl/2025/11/04/r... (1/3)
Rewarding political writing
I count myself very lucky that my time on this research project coincides with my appointment as a judge for the Kurt-Tucholsky-Preis for politically engaged writing in small forms – one of Germany's ...
intervention.sites.uu.nl
November 4, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Leila Essa
leilaessai.bsky.social
prepping my first lecture for the Migration and Diaspora course next week and honestly cannot wait to teach my new syllabus
Weekly Overview 2025/26 All mandatory set reading is available in the course reader (except for the novel in Week 6). All optional recommended reading is available via the UU library or linked below. Week 1: Introduction Lecture Wednesday 12 November Seminars Friday 14 November Set Academic Reading: - Sara Ahmed, ‘Home and Away: Narratives of Migration and Estrangement’ (1999) - Anne Potjans, Anja Sunhyun Michaelsen, Elahe Haschemi Yekani, Thao Ho and Fenja Akinde-Hummel (research group Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary), ‘A Conversation on Diaspora’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Paul Gilroy, ‘Diaspora’, Paragraph 17 (1994): 207-212 - Michel Bruneau, ‘Diasporas, transnational spaces and communities’ in Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, ed. by Rainer Bauböck and Thomas Faist (Amsterdam University Press, 2010), pp. 35-49 Week 2: Short Stories of Displacement (1950s-1980s) Lecture Wednesday 19 November Seminars Friday 21 November Set Literary Reading: - Saadat Hasan Manto, ‘Toba Tek Singh’ (first published in 1955, translated from Urdu) - Samira Azzam, ‘Another Year’ (first published around the 1950s or 60s, translated from Arabic) - Isaac Bashevis Singer, ‘The Letter Writer’ (first published in 1968, translated from Yiddish) - Ntozake Shange, ‘aw, babee, you so pretty’ (first published around the 1970s or 80s) Recommended Reading: - Leslie A. Flemming, ‘Riots and Refugees: The Post-Partiton Stories of Saadat Hasan Manto’, Journal of South Asian Literature, 13 (1977): 99–109 - Yasir Suleiman, ‘Palestine and the Palestinians in the Short Stories of Samira Azzam’, Journal of Arabic Literature, 22 (1991): 154-165 - Leonard Kriegel, ‘This World and That Shtetl: The Short Fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer’, The Sewanee Review, 113 (2005): 332-337 - Elizabeth Brown-Guillory, ‘Ntozake Shange: A Cultural War Correspondent—an Interview.” CLA Journal (2019): 111-131 Week 3: Essays on the Borders of Language (1980s-1990s) Lecture Wednesday 26 November Seminars Friday 28 November Set Literary Reading: - Etel Adnan, ‘To Write in a Foreign Language’ (first published in 1984 or 1989) - Gloria Anzaldúa, ‘The Homeland, Aztlán: El otro México’, ‘How to Tame a Wild Tongue’, and ‘Tlilli, Tlapalli: The Path of the Red and Black Ink’ (first published in 1987) - Astrid Roemer, ‘In Search of My Own Voice’ (dated 1995, first published in 1997) Recommended Reading: - Jennifer Scappettone, ‘“Fog is My Land”: A Citizenship of Mutual Estrangement in the Painted Books of Etel Adnan’, in Reading Experimental Writing, ed. by Georgina Colby (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), pp. 15-50 - Azade Seyhan, ‘At Different Borders/On Common Grounds’, in Writing Outside the Nation (Princeton University Press, 2001), pp. 116-145 - Yra van Dijk and Ghanima Kowsoleea, ‘A Central Voice in Caribbean Literature: Media and Memory in the Novels of Astrid Roemer’, NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 96 (2022): 29–54. Week 4: Poetry of Exile (1990s-2000s) Lecture Wednesday 3 December Seminars Friday 5 December Set Literary Reading: - Mahmoud Darwish, poems from The Butterfly’s Burden (first published between 1998 and 2003, translated from Arabic) Set Academic Reading: - Refqa Abu-Remaileh, ‘Country of Words: Palestinian Literature in the Digital Age of the Refugee’ (2021) - Also explore Abu-Remaileh’s literary maps interactively at https://countryofwords.org/ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Charlotte Salmi, ‘“A Necessary Forgetfulness of the Memory of Place”: Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry of No Return’, Interventions, 14 (2012): 55–68 - Edward Said, ‘Reflections of Exile’, Granta, 13 (1984), https://granta.com/reflections-on-exile/ Week 5: Anthologies of Belonging Across Contexts (2010s) Lecture Wednesday 10 December Seminars Friday 12 December Set Literary Reading: - excerpts from The Good Immigrant (first published in 2016): Nikesh Shukla, ‘Editor’s Note’ and ‘Namaste’ Vinay Patel, ‘Death is a Many-Headed Monster’ Musa Okwonga, ‘The Ungrateful Country’ - excerpts from The Good Immigrant USA (first published in 2019): Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman, ‘Editors’ Note’ Porochista Khakpour, ‘How to Write Iranian-America, or The Last Essay’ Chimene Suleyman, ‘On Being Kim Kardashian’ - excerpts from Your Homeland is Our Nightmare (first published in 2019, translated from German): Fatma Aydemir and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah, ‘Foreword to the Collection’ Sasha Marianna Salzmann, ‘Visible’ Deniz Utlu, ‘Trust’ Set Academic Reading: - Rehana Ahmed, ‘“We tick: Other”– race, religion, and literary solidarities in three essay anthologies and the neo-liberal marketplace’ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Saha and van Lente, ‘The Limits of Diversity: How Publishing Industries Make Race’, International Journal of Communication, 16 (2022): 1804-1822 (open access). - for those who can read Dutch: De Goede Immigrant, edited by Anousha Nzume, Ebissé Wakjira-Rouw and Mariam El Maslohui (Uitgeverij Pluim, 2020) Week 6 A Novel of ‘Postmigration’? (2020s) Lecture Wednesday 17 December Seminars Friday 19 December Set Literary Reading: - Mithu Sanyal, Identitti (first published in 2021, translated from German) Set Academic Reading: - Leila Essa, ‘Seen as Friendly, Seen as Frightening? A Conversation on Visibilities, Kinship and the Right Words with Mithu Sanyal’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Anna Meera Gaonkar, Astrid Sophie Øst Hansen, Hans Christian Post, and Moritz Schramm, ‘Introduction’, in Postmigration: Art, Culture and Politics in Contemporary Europe (Transcript, 2021), pp. 11-42 - Sophie Schweiger, ‘Intertextual Identittis? Sanyal’s Ambiguous Acts of Appropriation’, Genealogy+Critique, 9 (2023): 1-21 After the break: in-person paper (see below) and end-of-course excursion (details to be confirmed)
November 5, 2025 at 3:51 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
“I live inside my own heart, Matt Damon”
November 5, 2025 at 4:53 PM
leilaessai.bsky.social
prepping my first lecture for the Migration and Diaspora course next week and honestly cannot wait to teach my new syllabus
Weekly Overview 2025/26 All mandatory set reading is available in the course reader (except for the novel in Week 6). All optional recommended reading is available via the UU library or linked below. Week 1: Introduction Lecture Wednesday 12 November Seminars Friday 14 November Set Academic Reading: - Sara Ahmed, ‘Home and Away: Narratives of Migration and Estrangement’ (1999) - Anne Potjans, Anja Sunhyun Michaelsen, Elahe Haschemi Yekani, Thao Ho and Fenja Akinde-Hummel (research group Tales of the Diasporic Ordinary), ‘A Conversation on Diaspora’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Paul Gilroy, ‘Diaspora’, Paragraph 17 (1994): 207-212 - Michel Bruneau, ‘Diasporas, transnational spaces and communities’ in Diaspora and Transnationalism: Concepts, Theories and Methods, ed. by Rainer Bauböck and Thomas Faist (Amsterdam University Press, 2010), pp. 35-49 Week 2: Short Stories of Displacement (1950s-1980s) Lecture Wednesday 19 November Seminars Friday 21 November Set Literary Reading: - Saadat Hasan Manto, ‘Toba Tek Singh’ (first published in 1955, translated from Urdu) - Samira Azzam, ‘Another Year’ (first published around the 1950s or 60s, translated from Arabic) - Isaac Bashevis Singer, ‘The Letter Writer’ (first published in 1968, translated from Yiddish) - Ntozake Shange, ‘aw, babee, you so pretty’ (first published around the 1970s or 80s) Recommended Reading: - Leslie A. Flemming, ‘Riots and Refugees: The Post-Partiton Stories of Saadat Hasan Manto’, Journal of South Asian Literature, 13 (1977): 99–109 - Yasir Suleiman, ‘Palestine and the Palestinians in the Short Stories of Samira Azzam’, Journal of Arabic Literature, 22 (1991): 154-165 - Leonard Kriegel, ‘This World and That Shtetl: The Short Fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer’, The Sewanee Review, 113 (2005): 332-337 - Elizabeth Brown-Guillory, ‘Ntozake Shange: A Cultural War Correspondent—an Interview.” CLA Journal (2019): 111-131 Week 3: Essays on the Borders of Language (1980s-1990s) Lecture Wednesday 26 November Seminars Friday 28 November Set Literary Reading: - Etel Adnan, ‘To Write in a Foreign Language’ (first published in 1984 or 1989) - Gloria Anzaldúa, ‘The Homeland, Aztlán: El otro México’, ‘How to Tame a Wild Tongue’, and ‘Tlilli, Tlapalli: The Path of the Red and Black Ink’ (first published in 1987) - Astrid Roemer, ‘In Search of My Own Voice’ (dated 1995, first published in 1997) Recommended Reading: - Jennifer Scappettone, ‘“Fog is My Land”: A Citizenship of Mutual Estrangement in the Painted Books of Etel Adnan’, in Reading Experimental Writing, ed. by Georgina Colby (Edinburgh University Press, 2019), pp. 15-50 - Azade Seyhan, ‘At Different Borders/On Common Grounds’, in Writing Outside the Nation (Princeton University Press, 2001), pp. 116-145 - Yra van Dijk and Ghanima Kowsoleea, ‘A Central Voice in Caribbean Literature: Media and Memory in the Novels of Astrid Roemer’, NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 96 (2022): 29–54. Week 4: Poetry of Exile (1990s-2000s) Lecture Wednesday 3 December Seminars Friday 5 December Set Literary Reading: - Mahmoud Darwish, poems from The Butterfly’s Burden (first published between 1998 and 2003, translated from Arabic) Set Academic Reading: - Refqa Abu-Remaileh, ‘Country of Words: Palestinian Literature in the Digital Age of the Refugee’ (2021) - Also explore Abu-Remaileh’s literary maps interactively at https://countryofwords.org/ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Charlotte Salmi, ‘“A Necessary Forgetfulness of the Memory of Place”: Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry of No Return’, Interventions, 14 (2012): 55–68 - Edward Said, ‘Reflections of Exile’, Granta, 13 (1984), https://granta.com/reflections-on-exile/ Week 5: Anthologies of Belonging Across Contexts (2010s) Lecture Wednesday 10 December Seminars Friday 12 December Set Literary Reading: - excerpts from The Good Immigrant (first published in 2016): Nikesh Shukla, ‘Editor’s Note’ and ‘Namaste’ Vinay Patel, ‘Death is a Many-Headed Monster’ Musa Okwonga, ‘The Ungrateful Country’ - excerpts from The Good Immigrant USA (first published in 2019): Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman, ‘Editors’ Note’ Porochista Khakpour, ‘How to Write Iranian-America, or The Last Essay’ Chimene Suleyman, ‘On Being Kim Kardashian’ - excerpts from Your Homeland is Our Nightmare (first published in 2019, translated from German): Fatma Aydemir and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah, ‘Foreword to the Collection’ Sasha Marianna Salzmann, ‘Visible’ Deniz Utlu, ‘Trust’ Set Academic Reading: - Rehana Ahmed, ‘“We tick: Other”– race, religion, and literary solidarities in three essay anthologies and the neo-liberal marketplace’ (2023) Recommended Reading: - Saha and van Lente, ‘The Limits of Diversity: How Publishing Industries Make Race’, International Journal of Communication, 16 (2022): 1804-1822 (open access). - for those who can read Dutch: De Goede Immigrant, edited by Anousha Nzume, Ebissé Wakjira-Rouw and Mariam El Maslohui (Uitgeverij Pluim, 2020) Week 6 A Novel of ‘Postmigration’? (2020s) Lecture Wednesday 17 December Seminars Friday 19 December Set Literary Reading: - Mithu Sanyal, Identitti (first published in 2021, translated from German) Set Academic Reading: - Leila Essa, ‘Seen as Friendly, Seen as Frightening? A Conversation on Visibilities, Kinship and the Right Words with Mithu Sanyal’ (2024) Recommended Reading: - Anna Meera Gaonkar, Astrid Sophie Øst Hansen, Hans Christian Post, and Moritz Schramm, ‘Introduction’, in Postmigration: Art, Culture and Politics in Contemporary Europe (Transcript, 2021), pp. 11-42 - Sophie Schweiger, ‘Intertextual Identittis? Sanyal’s Ambiguous Acts of Appropriation’, Genealogy+Critique, 9 (2023): 1-21 After the break: in-person paper (see below) and end-of-course excursion (details to be confirmed)
November 5, 2025 at 3:51 PM