Literary Historiography of Palestinian Identity

Continuity in the Shadow of Ongoing Erasure

Abstract

This article seeks to address the question: What is Palestinian about Palestinian literature, and are there any common denominators to Palestinian writing across the different locations of Palestinian existence? It proposes a historical periodization following distinct discursive and literary features, beginning with the early twentieth century and the emergence of Palestinian national consciousness. Accordingly, this article analyzes literary expressions of Palestinian discursive components since 1948, and examines their responses to developments vis-à-vis Palestinian, regional, and global contexts. It introduces concepts such as fragmentation, localization, and attenuation, which have shaped Palestinian discourse and literature in the aftermath of the Nakba in 1948. Additionally, the article explores the unique literary manifestations of the profound impact of the 1967 war, which can be described as an existential fear of epistemic erasure, and the response to this fear through a Palestinian literary, cultural, and intellectual archiving project aimed at asserting existence and history. The failure of the Oslo Accords marks the beginning of a growing Palestinian recognition that the Nakba was not a singular event that concluded in 1948 but rather an ongoing reality. This recognition necessitates a reconsideration of the literary styles and expressions that have prevailed since the 1970s.