Nomadic subjectivity in the selected works of Abdourahman Waberi

• Main Author: Mattar, Netty
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: PR English literature
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/84929/1/LOA-45643.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/84929/7/84929%20Nomadic%20Subjectivity%20in%20the%20Selected%20Works%20of%20Abdourahman%20Waberi.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/84929/

Reading world literature is,’ as Debjani Ganguly asserts, ‘to confront both plurality and the prevalence of difference, and a myriad of often unpredictable nodes of connectivity.’ This seems a challenging task, considering how “Western” critical approaches can work to suppress alterity or absorb difference into familiar patterns of understanding. Even Postcolonial theory, which seeks to uncover unequal power relations, inscribes the ‘other’ as radically unknowable and is unable to provide alternative ways of encountering difference. It is perhaps apt then to turn to more ‘authentic’ critical perspectives as a way out of this impasse. I am interested in how authentic experiences of the ‘other’ can be discerned by looking to the particular arts, belief systems, and patterns of behaviour within the matrices of the culture from which the text emerges. I will explore the figure of the nomad as a means of understanding subjective experience in selected writings of French-Djiboutian writer Abdourahman Waberi. The nomad is a figure of mobility, embodying a relationship between landscape and subjectivity that disrupts fixed boundaries of nation. Far from being a mere trope, the Djiboutian nomad is resourceful, resilient, individualistic and proud, relying on distinct patterns of movement to survive the unforgiving landscape. Crucially, the nomad is tied to specific locations, enforcing the importance of difference in subjective experience. Comparing the Djiboutian nomad to the travellers in Waberi’s texts generates a dialogue between culture and writer, opening up the possibilities for reading non-Western, African subjectivities that go beyond the scope of Western paradigms.