Individualism, Collectivism, and Identity Politics in Palestinian Life Writing

This article examines the tensions, (dis)continuities, and precariousness of postcolonial identities in autobiographical writings Palestinian authors Ghada Karmi Raja Shehadeh. The question identity will be examined considering Gayatri Spivak’s conceptualisation strategic essentialism Kimberlé Crenshaw’s collective politics texts, as well concepts multiple affiliations by Amin Maalouf Chantal Mouffe. Through textual contextual analysis, I demonstrate that emphasising an individualist sense is a vital means empowerment for subject patriarchal collectivist culture. Simultaneously, identifying with national emerges these texts indispensable anti-colonial resistance steadfastness. Particularly context ongoing settler colonialism, affiliation becomes inevitable to safeguard Indigenous challenge hegemonic colonial discourse aims eliminate native collective. Therefore, conflict arises between authors’ desire nonconformity expression on one hand imposed due urgent cause other. argue individual author finds him/herself trapped unresolvable predicament dramatises questions belonging affiliation. These personal narratives are thus paradoxically unavoidably relational, dependent, speak experience people. concludes identification contexts struggle challenges both binary opposition individualism collectivism, notion unified autonomous selfhood.