Experience Of Exile Research Articles

Introduction: Exile and Innovation☆

AbstractThe early modern period was an age marked by the forced migration and displacement of social groups and individuals around the world. Huguenots, conversos, Catholics, cavaliers, Jacobites, and French emigrés alike fled or were expelled from their homes and communities. Yet, exile is still usually considered only within the context of broader religious or political events by scholars working in sub‐fields rather than as a phenomenon worthy of study in its own right. Foregrounding displacement as a major facet of early modern society and culture, this special issue explores the experience, perception, and poetics of exile from 1500 to 1800 through the prism of innovation. It encompasses displaced individuals and communities, as well as writings that treat the theme of exile, to consider how forced migration shaped the social, cultural, political, and intellectual contours of the era – and thus led to innovative practices and ideas.

Cultural Consciousness and Gender Identity in Moses Ascending and Moses Migrating

Samuel Selvon’s literature lays emphasis on the development of a consciousness that moulds the entire issue of identity into a new shape. His literature comprises the story of West Indian immigrants in London and through his central characters, one can learn about Caribbeans’ realities in England. The arrival of commonwealth subjects in England after World War II was considered, by the protagonists as well as other characters in Selvon’s novel, as a possibility to form positive inter-racial relations to cope with the problems of decolonization, yet it signals the progressive failure of such possibility. His protagonists are subjected to cultural consciousness, existential struggle, crime, gender issues, love and hate, betrayal and death that lurk behind the city’s glimmer. Samuel Selvon outlines how their experiences and action influence the formation process of their identity and defines their behavior. This research paper endeavors to explore the cultural consciousness shared by Selvon’s protagonists as well as the issue of gender identity experienced by them, also aims to analyze the experience of exile commonly shared by Selvon’s main characters.

The role of women during the Spanish Civil War

This study explores the multifaceted roles of women during the Spanish Civil War, examining the diverse perspectives delineated in academic literature. Leveraging scholarly articles sourced from Web of Science and Scopus spanning from 2013 to 2022, we analyse temporal trends, author demographics, scholarly impact, journal prominence, and thematic content. Our investigation culminates in the classification of contributions into six overarching themes: humanitarian aid and healthcare, biographical narratives, communication dynamics, experiences of exile and refugee communities, women’s mobilisation and ideological engagement, and the harrowing realities of repression and violence inflicted upon women. Furthermore, our findings reveal that research predominantly originates from Spain and is disseminated through Spanish-language journals. However, there exists a notable interconnection with the United States, evidenced by the participation of prominent North American authors and publication in non-Spanish journals. This research offers insights into the multifaceted roles of women during the Spanish Civil War and their academic representation.

Sánchez-Albornoz, the Danger of the Fitna, and the Problem of Spanish Unity and History

This article focuses on the almost unknown novel Ben Ammar de Sevilla. Una tragedia en la España de los taifas, written by the famous medievalist Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz (d. 1984), who while paradoxically contributing greatly for the knowledge on the Muslim Iberia and its historiography, at the same time consolidated the 19th century discourses of the Reconquista and the «Hispanized» al-Andalus. The aim of this article is to study, on the one hand, how al-Andalus is depicted on Sánchez-Albornoz’s novel, and, on the other, to interpret why he wrote this book and how it blends with his general way of thinking the history of Spain and his own present. The paper argues that this novel must be read through Sánchez-Albornoz’s experience of civil war and exile, in which the problem of the unity of the Spanish people throughout its history becomes crucial in his historical thought. The Taifa period, in which the novel focuses, and the consequences of the fitna and disintegration of the Andalusi unity, are a mirror in which Sánchez-Albornoz reflects his own reality and his patriotic longings. Thus, the main characters of his novel, such as the exiled king of Seville al-Mu‘tamid, become (in)direct parallels of the author’s life. Ideas such as that of the homo hispanus, the concern for union and the avoidance of the fitna are fundamental for a global understanding of Sánchez-Albornoz’s historical proposal. These perspectives can explain the apparent contradictions in his approach on the history of al-Andalus, and can also explain how the Middle Ages consisted of a way to address his own present.

‘Journalism in another form’: How exile experiences from Burundi renegotiate key elements of journalism

Since the renewed outbreak of the ongoing crisis in Burundi in May 2015, triggering a media crackdown, over one-third of the country’s reporters have gone into exile. They therefore joined an increasing number of journalists worldwide who are forced into exile. Between 2015 and 2021, many of the exiled Burundian journalists continued reporting for newly founded exile media in neighbouring Rwanda. Before their forced closure in 2021, these exile media had established themselves as successful outlets providing the only independent information from an otherwise blacked-out country. Based on semi-structured interviews with 10 exiled Burundian journalists conducted in Rwanda in 2020, this article exemplifies how the condition of exile impacts journalistic practice and norms, and renegotiates ideas of media professionalism. It is shown how Burundian exiled journalists display a strong personal conscience as journalists highlighting the voice of the voiceless and attempting to separate activism from their journalism. At the same time, the findings identify the main struggles of Burundian exiled journalists in maintaining operational objectivity, which depends on funding, providing balanced reporting without access to official sources and conducting verification of information in the unattainable field. These challenges are in line with the findings of several other case studies with exiled journalists from different regions. Therefore, this article complements the rapidly growing body of literature on exile journalism with a Global South perspective, which to date is not well represented on the map of exile journalism that mostly features cases of exile in the Global North. Furthermore, this article shows that situating exile experiences within existing theories and frameworks of journalism presents limits as exile journalism, as in the Burundian case, is journalism ‘in another form’ with new practices and renegotiated standards of professionalism.

Cross-effects of cultural and gay capitals in access to refugee status on the grounds of SOGI in France: Study of the formal and informal preparations of West African men for asylum trials

Abstract According to literature, ethnocentric representations of homosexuality structure the decision to grant asylum, or not, on the ground of sexual orientation. This ethnocentric criticism has recently led to a technicalization of evaluation practices by asylum judges, which are now based on a narrative and discursive mastery, a field in which respondents are unequal depending on their cultural and gay capitals. While the assessment as such appears to be more equitable, Western norms of gender and sexuality, and practicing self-narrative through their prism, continue to impose themselves in different ways, particularly in formal associative accompaniment or in informal preparation for the refugee status determination process. A 2-fold ethnographic approach, attentive to associative backing and the daily experience of exile as formal and informal spaces of asylum preparation and identity formation, is used to analyse the manner in which cultural and gay capitals influence identity formation, preparation for asylum trials, and chances of obtaining refugee status.

«I was in exile before leaving the country». Tunisia and the Feminist Continuities of Activism

What happened to the women who participated in the 2010-2011 Tunisian revolutions and subsequently left the country? While scholarly work has extensively delved into the engagement of the young generations who participated in these transformative times, there has been a limited attention to the experiences of women who subsequently underwent journeys of exile. This article seeks to empirically fill this gap by looking at the political trajectories of six women activists, spanning from their participations in the 2010-2011 Tunisian uprisings to their experiences in exile. Drawing on ethnographic research and life history interviews conducted between 2021 and 2023, this article shows the transformations in these activists’ political trajectories before they left the country. Furthermore, it outlines how, even in exile, queer and feminist activism has provided these women a space of engagement through a “multiple identifications” of their political attitudes and interests. Adopting a social movement approach focused on the continuities of engagement, this article contributes to two fields of the literature that have been traditionally studied in isolation: the literature on gendered borders and the literature on gendered transformations throughout revolutionary times. Finally, the article emphasises the importance of studying the transformations of meanings of engagement while analysing political continuities.

An Untold Experience of Exile: New Archival Findings on Felice Brancacci

The story of well-known patrician and merchant Felice Brancacci after his exile from Florence in 1435 has hitherto gone untold. This article offers the first scholarly analysis of newly uncovered letters, account books, and a will composed by Felice after his banishment. These documents convey Felice’s lived experience of exile, highlighting how he navigated his social, political, and commercial roles in central Italy by networking with merchants and elites as well as his sense of isolation and devastating loss. The study contributes to our understanding of the experiences of a remarkable number of political exiles from Florence, and from Italian city states more broadly, during the Renaissance.

Refuge in Revolution: Chilean and Uruguayan Exiles in Cuba, 1973-1990

ABSTRACT This article examines the refuge revolutionary Cuba offered to Chilean and Uruguayan exiles. Fleeing dictatorships during Latin America’s Cold War, thousands arrived in, or passed through, Cuba. Cuba was a logical refuge, representing a revolution suffused with promises of solidarity, internationalism and socialist modernity. It was also conceived as a route of resistance and return. Centring the memories of former exiles, this article examines expectations and reality of refuge in Cuba. Revealing a diversity of exile experiences, it asks what different forms of refuge existed in Cuba, how these evolved and with what significance for understanding the Cold War.

O EXÍLIO NAS PRODUÇÕES CINEMATOGRÁFICAS BRASILEIRAS: UMA ANÁLISE DO FILME DIÁRIO DE UMA BUSCA, DE FLÁVIA CASTRO

This work analyzes aspects relating to the experience of exile experienced by political activists persecuted during the Military Dictatorship, which occurred in Brazil, from 1964 to 1985,and the reflections of this experience in Brazilian cinematographic productions. To do this, we took as our object of study the film Diary of a Quest, released in Brazil in 2010, directed and starring Flávia Castro, daughter of Celso Castro, a militant found dead inside the apartment of a former Nazi officer in 1984. In this way, we work with Cinema and Dictatorship and their relationship with the concepts of Testimony Film (Gutfreind, 2011) and Search Cinema (Bartolomeu; Veiga, 2014). This work is justified by the need to understand how the arts, especially cinema, were established after the end of the dictatorship and how it can be used as an object of resistance. As a main result, we highlight, in this article, the way in which children were affected by historical material and the importance of search cinema in the constitution of the memory of the second generation.

Women and Their Experiences of Exile. A Philosophical Approach

El presente trabajo busca demostrar cómo el reconocimiento y estudio de las narrativas exiliares de mujeres podrían otorgar nuevos registros analíticos y reflexivos al campo de trabajo filosófico sobre castigo político. Para ello, en principio, se lleva a cabo un recorrido por sus orígenes clásicos, griego y romano, destacando que, si bien el exilio ha variado a lo largo de los siglos, hay ciertos elementos constitutivos que se mantienen en sus aplicaciones contemporáneas. Esto lleva a observar el modo en que estos elementos constitutivos del exilio se hacen presentes de una manera particular en la escritura narrativa exilar de mujeres —especialmente en las de las últimas dictaduras cívico-militares del Cono Sur latinoamericano—. Reconocer e incluir estas narrativas experienciales de mujeres en un corpus textual y analítico altamente masculinizado permitiría nuevos acercamientos y proyecciones reflexivas al campo de estudios filosóficos sobre el exilio.

Быт, нравы, образ жизни уголовных ссыльных в Восточной Сибири 80–90-х гг. XIX в.

Exile to Siberia during the late XIX century was a significant phenomenon in Russian history, particularly for convicted criminals. This article explores the daily experiences, cultural practices, and societal integration of penal exiles in Eastern Siberia during the 1880–1890s, shedding light on a neglected aspect of Russian social history. The mass exodus of individuals to Siberia, including criminals, was a prominent feature of Russia’s penal system in the XIX century. Despite its prevalence, scientific attention to the lived experiences of exiles, especially those with criminal backgrounds, has been limited. This article seeks to address this gap by examining the challenges and adaptations of penal exiles in Eastern Siberia. Penal exiles in Siberia encountered numerous challenges, including economic hardship, social stigma, and legal restrictions. The lack of financial resources often forced exiles into precarious living conditions, prompting many to resort to illicit activities or adopt a transient lifestyle. Moreover, the absence of familial support compounded the difficulties faced by exiles, highlighting the importance of social networks in adaptation and survival. The role of the family was crucial in the adaptation of penal exiles to Siberian life. However, familial ties were often strained by the challenges of exile, leading to familial fragmentation and isolation. Despite efforts to maintain familial cohesion, many exiles remained unmarried, further complicating their social integration and support networks. In conclusion, the study of the way of life, morals and lifestyle of penal exiles in Eastern Siberia during the 1880–1890s offers valuable insights into the complexities of Russia’s penal system and societal dynamics. By examining the experiences of exiles, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the human impact of punitive policies and the resilience of marginalized communities in adapting to adverse circumstances.

Something Evergreen Called Life

Two poems on the experience of womanhood and exile

Where Is the Place to Call Home? The Diasporic Writings of Hmong Americans

ABSTRACT The Hmong are an ethnic group with a rich cultural and historical background. They are primarily found in Southeast Asia, particularly in the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the Hmong have immigrated to the United States in large numbers as war refugees. The process of their integration into the new culture has engendered the formation of Hmong English writing. This body of literature mainly includes autobiographies, short stories, essays, and poems, most of which depict the Hmong experience of exile, and whose central preoccupation is the pursuit of a homeland. Focused exclusively on the literary works of Hmong Americans, this paper examines classic and experimental texts to amplify independent narratives. Drawing from diaspora literature scholarship by Stuart Hall and Homi K. Bhabha, it positions Hmong American literature as a representative form of diasporic writing. It seeks to unravel the complexities of their cultural transition, identity, and the role of literature in constructing narratives and opens up fresh dimensions in understanding its unique features and contributions.

Disentangling the Knots of Diasporic Identity through the Prism of Postpositivist Realism in Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River

Crossing the River (1993) holds within itself a whole history of the Black Diaspora. This history churned through the memories of various characters unfolds before the reader the experience of exile, disillusionment, and loneliness and depicts the diasporic ambivalence and hegemony of the Whites. Through a story of three black people during different time periods and on different continents as they struggle with separation from their native Africa, the novelist invites readers to see how individual stories are intertwined in the wider tapestry of collective memory. Phillips is interested in how narratives of slavery inform the contemporary migrant condition. Phillips explores the myriad associations and connecting points within black history on the imaginative terra firma of his fiction. He calls upon the reader to delve deeper into the ‘visible and obvious’ and to see how the present identities acquired their shape and characteristics; how the cauldron of collective memories, narratives, and stories produced enduring tales of affirmation and resilience. The novel acquires new contours when seen in the light of the Postpositivist realist approach. The theoretical approach enriches the thematic understanding of the novel and substantiates the idea that the concept of identity necessitates a valid epistemological inquiry.

The transformation of UK Chilean diaspora space: new Chilean migrants and encounters across time

AbstractThe Chilean diaspora space in the United Kingdom has been transformed over its 50‐year existence. From its origins as a diaspora born of political conflict and the arrival of Chilean exiles during the dictatorship, it has evolved into an altogether more diverse arena. New migrants with different interests and agendas have unsettled the delicate balance of exile life, and the impact of the clash of different histories in this diaspora space remains unknown. Although the experience of Chilean exiles has been actively studied, new empirical data introduces the existence of a much broader diaspora than that portrayed in the literature. The UK space of the Chilean diaspora has been radically altered through the diverse interests that the new cohorts bring and the organizations that reflect these new forms of interaction, as well as the divisive issues of past and present conflict that highlight the unresolved nature of the long‐term experience of exile.

EXILE AND RUSSIAN INTELLECTUAL RESPONSE: A STUDY OF VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S PNIN

Russian first-wave emigre literature portrays the experiences of Russian exiled intellectuals who were opponents of the ideology of Leninized Russia, or the Russia of Bolshevism and Bolsheviks. Numerous thousands of Russian intellectuals were forced to leave as a result of their country’s totalitarian leaders. For these intellectuals, Leninized Russia has become a dangerous place, even a prison. In Pnin, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov shows the lives of first-wave Russian intellectuals in exile and their responses. Through the main character, Professor Pnin, Nabokov tries to illustrate to his readers the path taken by many Russian exiles. He also intends to show how intellectuals in exile like Timofey Pnin wish to be part of a social community and strengthen their sense of belonging in order to overcome loneliness and alienation in the new country. Professor Pnin and other representatives of the first wave’s feeling of toska towards their homeland, pre-Revolutionary Russia, became stronger when they faced difficulties in the United States of America and when they felt inferior among other colleagues. The study reveals that Russian intellectuals in exile like Professor Timofey Pnin may partially compensate their feelings of toska towards their home, pre-Revolutionary Russia, through writing. By doing this, they may motivate themselves to achieve peak experience and transform exile into an enriching experience. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine Vladimir Nabokov's protagonist, Professor Timofey Pnin's exile experience and his response. The paper intends to show that Nabokov, through his main character, displays the fact that, despite the pain of being far from their homeland, for Russian intellectuals like Professor Timofey, the unwitting choice of exile becomes the right decision.

The Theme of Exile in V. S. Naipaul's Half a Life

The concept of exile is extensively addressed in the field of literature as well as in different disciplines of the social sciences. In the field of literature and literary studies, exile is depicted through various genres of fiction and plays an important role in the works of writers from different historical, linguistic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Indian writers who have merged into the mainstream of English literature have also given considerable focus to the theme of exile in their literary works. One of these writers, V. S. Naipaul, as an intellectual who has experienced exile, creatively explores themes of exile, displacement, alienation, identity, homelessness, and rootlessness. Through fictional characters such as Willie Somerset Chandran in Half a Life (2001), the author shows how individuals in the Third World try to survive in a complex, multicultural world. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyse V. S. Naipaul’s protagonist, Willie Chandran Somerset’s experience of exile in alien lands, taking into account the views and approaches of significant critics and scholars such as Edward Said, Abraham Maslow, Burke, and Stets. The study also aims to show how exile offers the protagonist the opportunity to explore the true state from a wider perspective.

Exilio, experiencias transnacionales, retorno y diásporas: itinerarios del Cono Sur

This article analyzes the experience of mass exile during the last wave of dictatorships in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay and, in particular, the process of partial return to the countries of origin. In the face of the dramatic institutional breakdown that affected each of these societies under dictatorships in different ways and to varying degrees, the text addresses the limits, difficulties, and shortcomings that ex-exiles encountered upon their return, the impact of the returnees on their respective national scenarios, and how the transnational experience of those who suffered such territorial displacement shaped their impact on the institutions of origin, politics, and national culture upon their return to their home countries. Finally, the article shows how the countries of origin have approached and interacted with the ongoing diasporas of nationals abroad, particularly with the diaspora of academics and professionals.

Chilean experiences of exile in the “socialist brotherhood” negotiating solidarity, belonging and change in the German Democratic Republic

Based on the empirical material collected in lifetime-narrative interviews, the article illuminates the multiple experiences of Chilean exiles between solidarity, belonging, Othering and foreignness in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The focus of the biographical case reconstruction based on Rosenthal is the individual negotiation of Othering practices and narratives, which the interview partners rejected, reinterpreted or strategically used for themselves. The results are biographical snapshots which show that not only encounter with (everyday) racism, but also experienced help and solidarity actions could cause discomfort among the Chilean political exiles, since they reflected the hegemonic conditions underlying their stay in the GDR. The interviewees experienced how state-institutionalised solidarity was linked to the political conditions of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and had its limits where individuals deviated from the behaviour expected of them. Throughout their lives, the interviewees are torn between Chile and the GDR (and later Germany): Confronted with feelings and constructions of foreignness and belonging(s) in relation to both countries they find different and changing ways of dealing with them over the course of their lives. What they have in common is the impossibility of deciding on a single national identity.