Narratives of Displacement and Identity: A Comparative Study of Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin and Bisan Owda’s Visual Media

Abstract

This dissertation offers a comparative analysis of Palestinian displacement and identity through the examination of Susan Abulhawa’s novel Mornings in Jenin (2010) and 22 selected videos by content creator Bisan Owda. Therefore, theoretical frameworks, including Achille Mbembé’s necropolitics, Marianne Hirsch’s postmemory, and Homi Bhabha’s third space, are used. The study examines how both fictional and visual narratives convey the inherited and lived experiences of displacement. It concludes that while Mornings in Jenin provides emotional resonance and a broader historical perspective, Bisan Owda’s visual media exposes the technological and bureaucratic structures that enact necropolitical control. These narratives demonstrate that Palestinian identity is dynamic, constantly shaped, reimagined and restructured. This interdisciplinary analysis calls for greater recognition of contemporary Palestinian voices within academic discourse