Memory in Turkish novel (2000-2023)

Memory studies have attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent years, particularly through research conducted in fields such as sociology, history, anthropology, philosophy, and psychology. The fact that virtually all aspects related to the past can be explained through the concept of memory stems from its encompassing a broad process that extends from an individual's life narrative to the full range of issues experienced by society as a whole. Memory, which examines the processes of remembering and forgetting at both individual and collective levels, incorporates literature and, through language, constructs new forms of remembrance via literary texts. The application of memory studies to literary texts solidifies the transmission of the past's social and societal structure, as well as the cultural codes conveyed through figures of remembrance. For this reason, literature traces the workings of memory across multiple domains when conveying either a specific historical period or an individual life narrative. The construction of the past takes place through literature—whose material is language and imagination—by engaging with history, identity, trauma, social environment, war, earthquakes, coups, traditions, and beliefs. The past draws attention to individual and collective lived experiences not only through genres such as memoir and autobiography but also through novels. As authors create new forms of memory in response to these events, they also adopt new modes of remembrance. A content analysis is conducted on eighty-eight Turkish novels published between 2000 and 2023 in order to examine how personal, collective, cultural, sensory, bodily, and object-based forms of memory are represented. In line with the political issues addressed by the authors, personal memory, cultural imagery, trauma, sound and musical memory, as well as bodily movements, are constructed accordingly. It is observed that all forms of memory present in the novels influence one another and that this interrelation is articulated in a deliberate manner. Thus, in light of the concept of memory, attention is drawn to the manifestations of all such events and representations within the Turkish novel. Keywords: Turkish Literature, Memory, Remembrance, Forgetting, Novel