Worlds at Play

摘要

Studying creative writing as an undergraduate helped Shaheen Hashmat to construct a cultural identity. In the process she explored the sense of alienation, cultural de-racination and racism that she and her family shared as the ethnic minority in a small village in Scotland. For her dissertation project, she interviewed her parents and close relatives and recorded their experiences after arriving in Britain from Pakistan. Taking inspiration from Jung Chang and reading the work of writers such as Sarfraz Manzoor, Yasmin Hai and Imran Ahmad in addition to her study of post-colonial literature, she was able to understand the challenges of her own life and to develop her own voice as a writer. She further addresses the issues raised by the experience of British Asians in Scotland, suggesting that cultural diversity presents a unique challenge in Scottish societies.