Aestheticization of the other A Rhetorical analysis of representation of Kurds in western travel writings

Focusing on the representation of the Kurds in the western travel writings, the present article attempts to identify the rhetorical devices deployed in these texts to textual construction of cultural differences. Our major questions are: "through what rhetorical devices Kurds have been represented and constructed in western travel writing?" and "are these representations consistent"? The rhetorical devices used in these travel texts are numerous and this paper just concentrates on one of these techniques, namely rhetorical trope of aestheticization. We want to know "how many forms does the rhetorical trope of aestheticization take in different periods?" and "has this trope been continued to be used in the later period texts?" Theoretical framework of this study has been built upon insights derivedfrom postcolonial theorists including Said, Spurr, Pratt, and Hall. This approach has served as a basis for several studies aimed at reading cross-cultural encounters. Considering our sample texts are characterized as narrative texts we have adopted a rhetorical analysis. We have divided travel texts into two groups: colonial period texts and postcolonial period ones. Findings indicate that the trope of aestheticization has been widely used and take different forms in the travel texts of both periods. So we witness that this trope is continued to be used in the later period. Finally, we conclude that the discourse of empire is still reproduced in travel texts of the later postcolonial period.6