UNESCO CHAIR For Inter-Religious Dialogue Studies in The Islamic World
In collaboration with the French Department at the College of Languages, University of Kufa, the UNESCO Chair organized an in-person seminar titled “On Civil War in Iraqi Novels” on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Dr. Alaa Shatnan, Director of the UNESCO Chair at the University of Kufa, delivered a lecture entitled “Civil War in Iraqi Novels: Between Reality and Fantasy.” The seminar was presented in French for students of the French Department, with an Arabic translation provided. It was attended by the academic and administrative assistants and several faculty members from the College of Languages.
The lecture aimed to highlight key Iraqi novels that addressed the theme of civil war and violence in Iraq post-2003, focusing in particular on those that blended reality with unreality, imagination, and fantasy.
The presentation initially reviewed ten diverse Iraqi novels that explored the topic of civil war in Iraq. Among these were three novels that transcended reality to venture into the realms of the surreal, imagination, and dark fantasy, such as “The Dead of Baghdad” by Jamal Hussein Ali, “Baghdad Morgue” by Burhan Shawi, and “Frankenstein in Baghdad” by Ahmed Saadawi. These works aimed to shock readers and raise awareness of the devastation caused by wars, emphasizing the need to avoid religious, sectarian, and ethnic intolerance, and instead promote peaceful coexistence, dialogue, and tolerance.
