Factual Fictions: Narrative Truth and the Contemporary American Documentary Novel

Abstract

Subject construction has become a central topic in academic discourse, particularly within the context of globalization's profound impact on identity formation. In an era marked by international migration and advancements in information and communication technologies, questions about individual and collective identities have taken on new significance. The edited volume *Imagined Identities*, under Gönül Pultar’s curation, explores these complexities through a series of interdisciplinary essays that examine the fluidity and contestation of identity across various cultural, political, and social contexts. The book is structured into six thematic sections, each addressing different dimensions of identity construction. The first part delves into literary representations of diaspora, challenging traditional notions of ethnic identity as fixed or bounded by national borders. Pramod K. Nayar’s chapter on the transnational Indian novel in English highlights how contemporary literature transcends binary oppositions between homeland and host country, instead embracing hybridity and multiplicity. Similarly, Tanja Stampfl and Andrea Rosso Efthymiou explore novels that depict diasporic subjects navigating liminal spaces, underscoring the global nature of these narratives rather than their ethnic specificity. The second part shifts focus to material culture and media as significant agents in shaping identities. Gönül Pultar’s contribution examines an Armenian cookbook from Istanbul, illustrating how culinary traditions serve as a medium for preserving diasporic histories and cultural heritage. Dawn Morais Webster analyzes a tourism campaign in Malaysia, revealing how national identity is constructed through commodification and marketing strategies. Together, these essays offer a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted processes involved in identity formation within an increasingly interconnected world.

(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)