Postcolonial identities in Russophone women’s writing from the Caucasus and central Asia

Thesis

My project examines how post-Soviet women writers outside of Russia, namely those in the Caucasus and Central Asia, respond to the post- Soviet transition and define their post-Soviet identities. The starting position of my thesis is that the current developments in the post-Soviet region cannot be understood without reference to postcolonial theory and that, to a large extent, post-Soviet identity is a postcolonial identity. Using theoretical tools of postcolonial studies (Bhabha, Vizenor, Tlostanova, Mbembe, Haraway), my enquiry spans a wide array of topics which most distinguish Russophone women’s prose: post-Soviet ‘unhomely’ trauma, immigration, NGOs and utopias. Yet, all of these themes are interlinked because the social perspectives and representational strategies are shared. Victimisation is eschewed in terms of ludic auto- stereotyping, mischief, and various kinds of strategically significant folly or outsider commentary, and authors push boundaries in order to creatively engage with otherness, evoking different kinds of unusual, uncanny, or even inhuman, senses of self. The project considers Russian studies as an expanding, trans-geographical field, while also enriching postcolonial studies by expanding its Eurocentric hermeneutics to include territories that are at most debatably ‘European’.

Authors: Koplatadze, T

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-4rp8kjorm
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Post-Soviet; Central Asia; Caucasus; Women's writing; Russophone; Literature; Postcolonial
• Subjects: Gender Theory; Russophone Literature; Post-Soviet Literature; Postcolonial Theory; Russian Postcolonial Studies