Livsberättelsen och det statligt sanktionerade våldet : Alevitiska erfarenheter av våld och åminnelsens makt i Turkiets moderna historia
(2026) In Religionsvidenskabeligt tidskrift- Abstract
- This article analyses how experiences of state-sanctioned violence in Turkey are shaped, conveyed and renegotiated in Alevi life stories. Drawing on personal accounts, it exami-nes how individual experiences of violence are interwoven with collective narratives of persecution, marginalisation and resistance. The study focuses in particular on two in-terviewees, Berfin and Ahmet, whose stories illustrate how the boundaries between the personal and the collective are blurred in the retelling of violence. The analysis draws on the concepts of cultural trauma and counter-narratives to understand how violent events, such as the abuse of political prisoners in Ulucanlar Prison and the arson attack in Sivas in 1993, acquire lasting significance... (More)
- This article analyses how experiences of state-sanctioned violence in Turkey are shaped, conveyed and renegotiated in Alevi life stories. Drawing on personal accounts, it exami-nes how individual experiences of violence are interwoven with collective narratives of persecution, marginalisation and resistance. The study focuses in particular on two in-terviewees, Berfin and Ahmet, whose stories illustrate how the boundaries between the personal and the collective are blurred in the retelling of violence. The analysis draws on the concepts of cultural trauma and counter-narratives to understand how violent events, such as the abuse of political prisoners in Ulucanlar Prison and the arson attack in Sivas in 1993, acquire lasting significance in Alevi memory practices. The article demonstra-tes how these events are not merely remembered as historical crimes, but continue to shape identity, political engagement and relations with the state. At the same time, it analyses how state memory institutions, such as museums and cultural centres, contribu-te to reshaping and, in some cases, rendering these experiences invisible through depoli-ticisation and simplistic narratives. By highlighting Alevi life stories as counter-narratives to state historiography, the article argues that stories of violence do not me-rely recount experiences, but also function as political acts. These narratives challenge established power relations regarding who has interpretative authority over the past and how this is to be represented in the present. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ec671018-be9f-439f-b82a-591fcb260b54
- author
- Markussen, Hege Irene LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- in press
- subject
- in
- Religionsvidenskabeligt tidskrift
- ISSN
- 1904-8181
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ec671018-be9f-439f-b82a-591fcb260b54
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-30 13:15:34
- date last changed
- 2026-08-10 11:46:34
@article{ec671018-be9f-439f-b82a-591fcb260b54,
abstract = {{This article analyses how experiences of state-sanctioned violence in Turkey are shaped, conveyed and renegotiated in Alevi life stories. Drawing on personal accounts, it exami-nes how individual experiences of violence are interwoven with collective narratives of persecution, marginalisation and resistance. The study focuses in particular on two in-terviewees, Berfin and Ahmet, whose stories illustrate how the boundaries between the personal and the collective are blurred in the retelling of violence. The analysis draws on the concepts of cultural trauma and counter-narratives to understand how violent events, such as the abuse of political prisoners in Ulucanlar Prison and the arson attack in Sivas in 1993, acquire lasting significance in Alevi memory practices. The article demonstra-tes how these events are not merely remembered as historical crimes, but continue to shape identity, political engagement and relations with the state. At the same time, it analyses how state memory institutions, such as museums and cultural centres, contribu-te to reshaping and, in some cases, rendering these experiences invisible through depoli-ticisation and simplistic narratives. By highlighting Alevi life stories as counter-narratives to state historiography, the article argues that stories of violence do not me-rely recount experiences, but also function as political acts. These narratives challenge established power relations regarding who has interpretative authority over the past and how this is to be represented in the present.}},
author = {{Markussen, Hege Irene}},
issn = {{1904-8181}},
language = {{swe}},
series = {{Religionsvidenskabeligt tidskrift}},
title = {{Livsberättelsen och det statligt sanktionerade våldet : Alevitiska erfarenheter av våld och åminnelsens makt i Turkiets moderna historia}},
year = {{2026}},
}