5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This panel aims to discuss literature as a means of resistance and cure for the damage to collective memory caused by the state, through the case of life imprisoned Kurdish literature. After a brief introductory presentation (by DH) Kurdish writers will have a voice to present and discuss their reflections and self-reflections on literature and its meanings -how it can be a resistance, how it can be a cure for what. This panel represents a very rare opportunity because all the panel participants are writers who have been sentenced to life imprisonment for their political activities during their teenage years and have been released after serving 30 years in prison where they became writers.

There are around 250 writers from five different generations who were born between the years 1950 to 1990s. The emergence of these generations of writers and their extensive coverage points to the frequency of life sentence and its equivalents, and highlights that mass incarceration functions as a generation-cide. However, life imprisoned Kurdish literature serves as a means against this. Through their literature, links between generations can be recovered, information about lived experience of peoples is transferred between generations, and newer generations can compare the world they live in with others. It contributes to the recovery and reconstruction of collective and individual memories, and also play an essential role in providing continuity among generations, not only for Kurds, but for other peoples.