This volume deals with the Iraqi cultural production under and after Baathist rule, a research field which in comparison to Iraqi history and politics has attracted relatively little scholarly attention. Analyzing the impact of dictatorship, sanctions, and successive wars on Iraqi culture, the dominant narratives and counter narratives are elaborated in detail. Special emphasis is laid on the analysis and critical re-evaluation of the cleavages running through Iraqi society. Several articles explore new points of departure and strategies of subversive writing, resisting repression and a culture of coercion.
Further contributions deal with the literary representations of the various identities and cultural memories of contemporary Iraq.