Patriotism in Selected Poems of Sherko Bekas and Ofelia Zepeda

A Discursive Psychological Approach

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v9n1y2026.pp599-606

Keywords:

Bekas, Zepeda, Discursive Psychology, Seeds, Rain

Abstract

This study is an attempt in the field of discursive psychology (DP) and introduces readers to two poets from two very different nations with divergent social and political backgrounds: Sherko Bekas, a Kurdish poet, and Ofelia Zepeda, a Native American poetess. Through employing DP, the researcher analyses four poems (Seeds and Sprouting in Ashes by Bekas) and (We are Papago and Smoke in Our Hair by Zepeda). The study aims to display how both poets use language to communicate their ideas and how the identities of these nations and their problems are expressed through specific lexica and symbols. The researcher also focuses on the psychological aspects of the poems to manifest the happy and sad emotions addressed by the selected authors and to show how they are attached to their homeland and the depth of their love towards their home. To attain the objectives, the paper tries to answer certain questions such as how the writers use language to introduce themselves and their nations, and what type of words and symbols are used to convey their ideas of resistance and resilience. The research concludes that discursive psychology is helpful in analysing the poems and accomplishing the goals because the study of the employed language proved that the poets are real patriots who devoted their lives and time to serve their homeland and preserve their identity and culture.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Bakhtiar S. Hama, Department of English Language, College of Basic Education, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Asst. Prof. Dr. Bakhtiar Sabir Hama, a lecturer at University of Sulaimani and the Head of English Language Department- College of Basic Education. I have Ph.D. in English Literature. My interests include Modern British and American literature, Stylistics, psychoanalysis and critical theories.

References

Bar-Tal, D., & Staub, E. (1997). Patriotism: Its scope and meaning. In D. Bar-Tal & E. Staub (Eds.), Patriotism in the life of individuals and nations (pp. 1–19). Nelson-Hall.

Basnews. (n.d.). Kurdish leaders commemorate 51st anniversary of Qaladze bombing and resistance. Retrieved May 20, 2025 from https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/881715.

Black, E. (2006). Pragmatic stylistics. Edinburgh University Press.

Bekas, S. (n.d.). Seeds. Poemist. https://www.poemist.com/sherko-bekas/seeds.

Bekas, S. (2006). Sherko Bekas poem collection (Vol. 2, 1974–1986). Kurdistan (Kurdish).

Bekas, S. (2006). Sherko Bekas poem collection (Vol. 4, 1974–1986). Kurdistan (Kurdish).

Ferber, M. (2007). A dictionary of literary symbols (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

European Greens. (2007). 16-3-1988, 20 years after: The Anfal-campaign and the chemical attack on Halabja must be recognized as genocide. Retrieved June 12, 2025 from https://europeangreens.eu/resolutions.

Hale, K. (2019). Afterword. In O. Zepeda (Ed.), When it rains / Mat Hekid O Ju: Tohono O’odham and Pima poetry (pp. 77–79). University of Arizona Press.

Haworth, J. (2017). Ofelia Zepeda: A language for praying. NMAI Magazine, 18(2). Retrieved June 15, 2025 from https://www.americanindianmagazine.org.

Human Rights Watch. (1993). Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal campaign against the Kurds. Retrieved April 15, 2025 from https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/.

International Monetary Fund. (1985). Membership and Nonmembership in the International Monetary Fund. International Monetary Fund. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/doi.org/10.5089/9781455215935.071

New York Kurdish Cultural Center. (n.d.). Sherko Bekas, poet. New York Kurdish Cultural Center. Retrieved June 5, 2025, from https://nykcc.org/sherko-bekas-poet/

Ostler, J. (2019). Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and The United States from The American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas. Yale University Press

Phillips, S. J., & Comus, P. W. (Eds.). (2000). A natural history of the Sonoran Desert. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Potter, J. (2012). Discourse analysis and discursive psychology. In M. Handford & J. P. Gee (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 104–119). Routledge.

Salih, B., et al. (2009). Ancient Nigella seeds from Boyalı Höyük in north-central Turkey. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 124(3), 416–420. https://doi.org/[doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.05.039. PMID 19505557]

Te Molder, H. (2015). Discursive psychology. In K. Tracy, C. Ilie, & T. Sandel (Eds.), The International encyclopedia of language and social interaction (pp. 1–11). John Wiley & Sons.

Wiggins, S. (2003). Discursive psychology: Theory, method and applications. Sage Publications.

Williams, G. W. (2000). Introduction to aboriginal fire use in North America. Fire Management Today, 60(3), 8–12. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20000615357

Zepeda, O. (1983). A Tohono O’odham grammar. University of Arizona Press.

Zepeda, O. (n.d.). Smoke in Our Hair. Retrieved June 15, 2025, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53449/smoke-in-our-hair

Zepeda, O. (n.d.). We are Papago. Blue Ridge Journal. Retrieved June 15, 2025, from https://www.blueridgejournal.com/poems/oz-papago.htm

Published

2026-06-05

How to Cite

Hama, B. S. (2026) “Patriotism in Selected Poems of Sherko Bekas and Ofelia Zepeda: A Discursive Psychological Approach”, KOYA UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 9(1), pp. 599–606. doi: 10.14500/kujhss.v9n1y2026.pp599-606.

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.