Literature as a Psychological Means of Peace Building: A Conceptual Study of Humanization of the Dehumanized "Other" in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows

The aim of this study is to highlight the role of literature in peacebuilding by elaborating the way Kamila Shamsie deconstructed the dehumanization technics used in war times while humanizing the other in her 2009 novel Burnt Shadows. There are two or more sides in conflicts, each containing people who consider themselves, “ingroup”, as similar and the others, outgroup, as different. Dehumanization is a technic through which, as Leyens says, the “outgroup” is perceived sub-human or non-human against the “ingroup” which is, due to similarity, essentially human. People, then, tend to have primary emotions towards the outgroup and the secondary emotions are felt only for the “ingroup”. {1} This leads to genocide, war, murder and cruelty because people do not feel any empathy for the outgroup. Considering the enemy as a non-human creature who is threatening the life of the self is the cause behind atrocities committed throughout the war. On the other hand, reading about different cruelties and wars throughout the history does not provoke empathy due to the lack of knowledge about the lives of those affected by war. Literature, for its being a perfect platform for giving a detailed account of reality, can be used as a tool for describing the wars, conflicts, clashes and discriminations eased by dehumanization. This brings a question to the fore; how can a literary work be useful in breaking down the stereotypes and dehumanization technics, and eventually lead to peace building? Focusing on Shamsie’s highlighting along with deconstruction of the stereotypical views regarding people from different sides of the wars and conflicts between states, classes, ethno-religious groups etc. is a suitable way for answering the question. Burnt Shadows is a journey started in the heart of the second world war in Nagasaki to Delhi and Independence and partition of India, then to New York and Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 and its aftermaths. Going deep inside the lives of people in all sides of the conflicts, their thoughts, feelings, traumas and ways of living humanizes these people who were once dehumanized by their enemies. This study reveals how are the previously accepted stereotypes and non-human features attributed to the sides of the conflicts deconstructed in the novel and how are the depth of the disasters happened throughout the wars are shown to create empathy in the readers. Since few scholars have focused on dehumanization and its utility in conflicts and there is a gap in the previous researches regarding the deconstruction of the stereotypes in literature leading to peace, this research can be helpful in filling this gap in peace studies. The findings, considered as research implication can have impact on future research on peacebuilding.