Hande Gurses | Capilano University (original) (raw)

Books by Hande Gurses

Although ecocriticism began to gain ground in the Western academy in the late 1990s, its impact i... more Although ecocriticism began to gain ground in the Western academy in the late 1990s, its impact in the comparative study of Turkish literature has not been visible until very recently. With the widespread destruction of natural landscapes and subsequent environmental protests that transform into nationwide uprisings, cultural studies in Turkey only recently started turning its eyes towards ecology. The landscape of Turkey, with its trees and animals inspires narratives of survival, struggle and escape. This volume aims to portray how the ‘defenseless’ and ‘silent’ partners of our lives appear in our language. To what extent have they been represented in Turkish literature and film? What roles have they appeared in? What roles did they bestow upon humans? To what extent have they been given a voice? What are the possibilities for a trans-species interaction? And what does it mean today within the context of Turkish identity to be a ‘defenseless’ and ‘voiceless’ other?

This volume, as a collection of essays on some of the literary and cinematic milestones, will be the first of its kind. By establishing the relevance of the theoretical issues, creative works and the political circumstances, this volume will be a landmark in its field.

Book Chapters by Hande Gurses

A good story comes to life only through skilful storytelling and Orhan Pamuk is a brilliant story... more A good story comes to life only through skilful storytelling and Orhan Pamuk is a brilliant storyteller. His books are not passive mirrors offering a mere reflection but rather become that which is being represented. Contrary to the conventional artistic principle Pamuk’s books do not merely show but ‘are’ the very thing that they are addressing. The underlying struggle of defining one’s identity that marks his oeuvre finds a different form of embodiment in each of Pamuk’s novels. Consequently in order to gain an exhaustive understanding of Pamuk’s writing it is pivotal to study the distinct narrative strategies that he adopts. This paper focuses on two novels that use polyphonic narrative style as a trope to discuss the implications of voice in the expression and experience of identity. Silent House (1983) and A Strangeness in My Mind (2014) are novels where the reader can hear the voice of each character through their individual first person narration. Silent House, Pamuk’s second novel, recently translated into English is marked by a sense of impending doom during the days leading to 1980 military coup. The claustrophobic environment of Silent House is juxtaposed with the sense of scattering that marks his latest novel A Strangeness in My Mind that spans a period between 1954-2012 through the profusion of characters surrounding the protagonist Mevlut Karatas. In both novels the characters speak in the first person, telling their individual perspective of the events. This narrative style provides highly individualized voices to the characters as well as a diverse and fragmented structure to the novel and requires a more active reading from the part of the reader. Taking into account all these aspects this paper will discuss how this narrative strategy operates in the two selected novels. The paper will discuss the effect of the narrative technique on the contextual issues that the two novels deal with. By looking at two novels from different periods in Pamuk’s career this paper will bring to light an evaluation of the various movements that his oeuvre has taken.

The Museum of Innocence is Orhan Pamuk’s latest work of fiction, published in Turkish in 2008 and... more The Museum of Innocence is Orhan Pamuk’s latest work of fiction, published in Turkish in 2008 and in English in 2009. The novel depicts the obsessive love that Kemal, a member of a bourgeois family, feels for a distant relative Füsun who works as a saleslady. The novel spans a 30-year period starting in 1975 and portrays the different directions that the relationship between Kemal and Füsun take. The Museum of Innocence not only focuses on this possessive yet enduring relationship but also offers an exhaustive representation of the social, political and cultural atmosphere of the era. It successfully recreates the various cultural landmarks of the social life, which far from acting as a background to the story, become the very space where the dynamics of the relation between Kemal and Füsun are conceived. As the title of the narrative also indicates, Kemal’s passion for Füsun results in his becoming a devoted collector, which culminates in the idea of creating a museum where these collected objects will be exhibited. In this essay I will analyse the implications of the act of ‘collecting’ mainly focusing on the formation of Füsun as the object of fantasy. I will aim to explore how the collection and the desire to archive affect the formation of Füsun as a space of fantasy in need of domiciliation. Mainly using the writings of Jacques Lacan and Jacques Derrida as my theoretical framework I will try to illustrate le mal d’archive and its implications on the construction of the beloved. I will analyse the intrinsic connection between the desire to preserve and fantasy, using the archive of Kemal and the construction of Füsun as the main focus of this essay.

Global Perspectives on Orhan Pamuk: Existentialism and Politics , 2012

Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories of a City is a text that is impossible to define using the alrea... more Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul: Memories of a City is a text that is impossible to define using the already existing vocabulary regarding genre. Both thematically and formally it stands on slippery ground, which is constantly moving, challenging any definition that would confine it within fixed boundaries. With its variety of ingredients that includes autobiographical details from Pamuk’s own childhood memories, photographs from the family album, newspaper articles, paintings, as well as writings on Istanbul by various artists, Istanbul: Memories of a City reflects the different levels, temporal and spatial, through which the narrator has experienced the city. The narrative itself emerges as a reflection of Istanbul with its conflicting and diverse social, cultural, and financial aspects. Its nonlinear structural and thematic composition offers the reader the chance to experience the city in the same way that Pamuk did. The first-person narration and Orhan the narrator stress the autobiographical aspect of the narrative while also raising questions regarding the genre of Istanbul: Memories of a City.
In this chapter, I will discuss how the narrative functions like a mirror and what are the images that are reflected in that mirror.

Redefining Modernism and Postmodernism, Aug 1, 2010

Teaching Documents by Hande Gurses

This graduate seminar will offer an overview of the broad field of ecocritcism and its interactio... more This graduate seminar will offer an overview of the broad field of ecocritcism and its interaction with literature. Since its emergence ecocriticism has been growing as a field interacting across disciplines and exploring questions of a wide temporal and spatial axis. In this course we will discuss the key terms and themes that prevail ecocriticism today and its relevance for literature. We will address and problematize the political, philosophical, anthropological, ethical and aesthetic expressions of these themes. In addition to the study of the impact that the environment has on our interactions with landscape, animals and other forms of life, we will also discuss the implication of the environment in constructing identities and sovereign powers. In addition to our readings and discussion, we will also visit the MacLeish Field Station. Some guiding questions for this course are: How do we define environment? In what ways do we interact with it? How does the environment figure in literature? What are implications of the environment on our language, actions and policies? What potential does ecology hold for our future? In what ways ecology and art change and challenge processes of creation and representation?

Papers by Hande Gurses

The German Quarterly , 2021

Conference Presentations by Hande Gurses

On February 2014, Marius, the two-year old giraffe of the Copenhagen Zoo was shot and then dissec... more On February 2014, Marius, the two-year old giraffe of the Copenhagen Zoo was shot and then dissected in public, his body parts eventually becoming food for the lions of the zoo. When the news of Marius’ fate became public, a torrent of reaction ensued resulting in an online petition that received over 25000 signatures, an individual and another zoo offering to buy Marius. Despite all these efforts and public backlash, the Danish zoo went ahead with the decision. In the January 16, 2017 issue of The New Yorker, Ian Parker published an article that offered an in-depth analysis of the decision to euthanize the animal as well as the premises under which zoos operate today. The March 26 issue of the magazine contained a poem by the late poet Lucie Brock-Boido titled “Giraffe”. The poem imagines the journeys of the giraffe through time, traversing continents to fulfill different human needs. This paper studies the poem and the article as examples of the representations of animal deaths. Looking at the politics of the zoo and Lucie Brock-Boido’s poem this paper problematizes the numerous justifications that emerge in the treatment of animals by humans. How does the killing of the giraffe in a zoo and a poem written as eulogy function in the broader politics of the encounter between the human and the non-human animal?

In his Theory of the Border Thomas Nail offers an extensive study of the different forms in which... more In his Theory of the Border Thomas Nail offers an extensive study of the different forms in which the border comes into practice. The wall for Nail is a border that “marks, limits, and bounds the social motion of political life.” What happens when the wall marks, limits, and bounds a life that consists of a human, a dog, a cow, and a cat? Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall (1963) is an ecotopian novel that explores this new form of political configuration. Enclosed by a transparent wall, the nameless narrator-protagonist of the novel tells about her life within the confines of the wall in a journal that she keeps. Her narrative reflects her daily tasks for survival, her interactions with the non-human animals, and her reflections on her past and current circumstances. It is by exploring this alternative social structure that the novel challenges a conventional definition of cosmopolitanism and politics. This paper will study the political and aesthetic implications of the different ways in which these forms of life interact with each other within the confines of the wall. This paper will discuss the potential that an alternative cosmopolitanism holds for not just a human engagement with nature but also for the broader understanding of the categories of the self and the other, as well as its implications on the redefinition of sovereignty and cosmopolitanism. How do we define belonging and ownership of space? In what ways does the universalism of the category “human” enable hospitality? What does an ecological cosmopolitanism look like? What are the politics of an ecological hospitality? In the light of these guiding questions and Philippe Descola’s definition of “ontological pluralism”, this paper will explore the contested dynamic between universals and particulars and their implications on an ecological cosmopolitanism.

The 2011 film, Monsieur Lazhar, by the Canadian director Philippe Falardeau, tells the story of a... more The 2011 film, Monsieur Lazhar, by the Canadian director Philippe Falardeau, tells the story of an Algerian refugee, Bashir Lazar who is trying to build himself a new life in Montreal. Bashir offers to teach in a local school appropriating his wife’s résumé as his own. The class he is assigned however has been struck by tragedy as the teacher committed suicide in the classroom. Brought together under these painful and unusual circumstances Bashir and the students undergo an intimate healing process that eventually transforms their pain alongside their sense of identity. The movie successfully portrays the different lives of the characters both inside and outside the classroom, presenting their vulnerabilities with candor. The classroom, a space strictly bound by rules and conventions, becomes a space where emotions take over, forcing everyone to face their pain. This paper will analyze Monsieur Lazhar’s representation of the refugee and the impact the displaced other has on the host community. How does the displaced individual reconstruct a sense of identity? What are the limitations and possibilities that the displacement generates? Can the classroom become the space of healing? As the political and personal become intertwined, what are the pedagogical responsibilities of educational institutions? In the light of these preliminary questions this paper will provide an insight into the displaced other that is not bound by exoticisms or victimhood.

The Vegetarian (2015) by Han Kang, tells the story of Yeong-Hye who suddenly stops eating meat. T... more The Vegetarian (2015) by Han Kang, tells the story of Yeong-Hye who suddenly stops eating meat. The horror and shame that this new dietary paths inflicts upon the family members is best reflected in the words of Yeong-Hye’s mother: “Stop eating meat, and the world will devour you whole.”
This statement while expressing the family’s rigid views on diet also presents meat eating as a defense strategy that shields one from being devoured by the world. Yeong-Hye’s decision therefore appears not as a personal dietary choice but more as an act of self-annihilation. In this paper I will discuss the possibilities that this act of self-annihilation beholds in terms of political resistance. By turning sustenance into a weapon of self-destruction, how can one interfere with the larger state politics? How does food operate within the broader context of biopolitics? To what extent does food shape the anthropocentric experience of the environment? In the light of these preliminary questions I will discuss the relevance of Deleuze & Guattari’s concept of ‘becoming animal’ and how it operates within The Vegetarian as an act of self-erasure and invisibility. I will discuss the implications of this invisibility and the political potential it offers in the face of the forces of authority represented by the family on a micro level and the state on a macro level.

J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace is published in 1999, the same year as his generically ambiguous novella... more J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace is published in 1999, the same year as his generically ambiguous novella The Lives of Animals. Although distinct in content and genre the two narratives share a deep fascination with animals. Coincidentally in both narratives it is the female characters who are preoccupied with animals, talking to and for them, providing them with shelter or killing them. The placement of the female alongside the silent other creates an interesting trope that requires further investigation. How do the women talk about animals? What is lost in this transition from silence to language? To what extent men are allowed in this conversation? How do the gender roles interfere in the relation with the animals?
In the light of these questions this paper aims to study the possible connections between Coetzee’s women and his animals. Without falling into the binary positioning of the human against the animal, this paper will investigate possible ways to discuss the feminine and the animal and evidently the relation between body and identity. Jacques Derrida locates the origins of thinking at the encounter with the animal: ‘The animal looks at us, and we are naked before it. Thinking perhaps begins there.’ Mindful of Derrida’s position this paper will not only look at the animal in Coetzee’s oeuvre but will attempt to find the thinking that lies in the animal gaze.

Gender identity is a perpetual rhizomatic journey that refutes all attempts of creating a clear a... more Gender identity is a perpetual rhizomatic journey that refutes all attempts of creating a clear and well-formed map. The study of space proves to be a beneficial analogy in the attempt to understand the complex set of relations through which gender manifests itself. The spatial coordinates as well as the dynamic tendencies offer a generous trope through which gender identity can be examined. In this paper I will study how the permanence and/or the transformation of spatial conditions affect the construction and enactment of gender roles in the narratives of Orhan Pamuk, J.M. Coetzee and Colm Tóibín. Primarily focusing on the notions of dislocation, travel and permanent settlement I will examine how the physical movement within space or a lack thereof provides a new perspective under which gender roles are allocated. To what extent does geography affect the definitions of specific gender roles? How does travelling contribute to a crossing of the boundaries of gender roles? Can a movement in space operate as an inhibitor or facilitator of a more flexible definition of gender identity? What is the relation between spatial belonging and belonging to a specific gender identity? In the light of these leading questions I will offer a comparative analysis of Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence, Coetzee’s The Childhood of Jesus and Tóibín’s Brooklyn. The distinct geographical settings of each narrative as well as the treatment of gender roles will enable an original and prolific discussion. Using the theoretical framework provided by the works of Judith Butler, I will explore each narrative’s stance towards the restrictions and possibilities that gender identity entails.

Invited Talks by Hande Gurses

Hande Gurses (SFU) offers a comparative study of two documentaries that focus on the stray animal... more Hande Gurses (SFU) offers a comparative study of two documentaries that focus on the stray animals in the two neighboring cities of Athens and Istanbul. Kedi (2016) follows the lives of seven stray cats living in different neighborhoods of Istanbul through interviews conducted with the people who care for them. As such the film offers an insight into the politics of urban life and addresses issues including homelessness, gentrification, and urban poverty. Dogs of Democracy (2017) in a similar vein, depicts the lives of stray dogs of Athens, particularly focusing on Loukanikos, a devoted dog member of the protests against the government’s austerity measures following the 2008 Greek financial crisis. The two documentaries offer examples of non anthropocentric solidarity by focusing on the multi-faceted connection between human and non-human inhabitants of the urban space.

Exploring Kemal Varol's 2014 novel Haw and Reha Erdem's 2013 movie Jîn, Professor Gurses asks how... more Exploring Kemal Varol's 2014 novel Haw and Reha Erdem's 2013 movie Jîn, Professor Gurses asks how animals' speech testifies to the trauma of war, sovereign power, and displacement. She considers how these works experiment with language traversing the animal/human divide in order to shelter the displaced and resist the violence they suffer.

– How do we create a learning experience that is supportive, creative, and meaningful? How can we... more – How do we create a learning experience that is supportive, creative, and meaningful? How can we make our teaching more accessible inside and outside the classroom? In this session we will explore aspects of teaching with inclusivity, diversity, and equity by generating an awareness of our own identities. We will first discuss ways to make our classrooms, syllabi, and assignments more inclusive. Then we will focus on contemplative pedagogy and mindfulness as strategies of creating an inclusive teaching environment and a resource for self‐care. Participants will be provided with different strategies of incorporating mindfulness into their teaching and personal practices.

Global Perspectives on Orhan Pamuk: Existentialism and Politics , 2012

Redefining Modernism and Postmodernism, Aug 1, 2010

Edebiyatta salgının ne işe yaradığını anlamak için, salgın zamanında edebiyatın ne işe yaradığını... more Edebiyatta salgının ne işe yaradığını anlamak için, salgın zamanında edebiyatın ne işe yaradığını da düşünmemiz gerekir. Ve işte şimdi bu şansı yakaladığımız nadir zamanlardan birinden geçiyoruz. Edebiyatta salgın, bize olağan ve sıradan olanın olağanüstülüğünü gösterirken, salgında edebiyat sıradan olanın kıymetini hatırlatıyor.

Neden “ aşk romanları” var da “arkadaşlık romanı” yok? En büyük, en imkansız, en mutlu aşk hikaye... more Neden “ aşk romanları” var da “arkadaşlık romanı” yok? En büyük, en imkansız, en mutlu aşk hikayesi dediğimizde aklımıza onlarca film geliyor da, arkadaşlık filmi dediğimizde neden duraksıyoruz? Kabul etmek gerekir ki günümüz teknolojisi ile şekil değiştiren ilişkilerimizden, arkadaşlıklarımız da nasibini aldı. Artık arkadaşlarımıza kolaylıkla ulaşabiliyor, nerede olursak olalım onlarla görüntülü konuşabiliyor ya da sosyal medya aracılığıyla uzaktan izleyebiliyoruz onların hayatlarını, yıllarca görüşmesek bile. Bu çeşitliliğin içinde arkadaş kavramı evrilirken, “sesini duymak” yerini “like”lara bırakırken, arkadaşlarımız “takipçi”lere dönüşürken arkadaşlığa dair düşünmek için doğru bir zaman gibi gözüküyor.