St Petersburg International Conference of Afghan Studies

50 Санкт-Петербургская международная конференция по афганистике Секция 2. Письменные традиции, литература и фольклор Афганистана... theme is what makes the story a significant one and places it among other important writings in the history of Afghan modern literature. One should take notice that the story concerns an issue perceived by most of philosophers, social scientists and activists as crucial for further socio-economic development of the country, i. e. education 1 . Maxim Gorky’s How Did I Learn to Write ( Как я учился , 1918) and Sadriddin Ayniʼs Old School ( Мактаби к ӯ ҳна , 1935) deal with the similar theme. In this respect especially Ayniʼs text seems interesting as Moxles-Zādeh was born and raised in Bokhara. Thus, one would expect that the author will emphasize this issue in his story too, however it is uncertain whether the former two authors inspired or influenced the latter 2 . In this paper we would like to elaborate on how did Moxles-Zādeh present his school; how did he deal with popular stereotypes regarding traditional education offered in unconventional schools- makāteb ; what subjects were taught at various levels including primary, secondary and high schools in Afghanistan at that time, how did he describe a Western-type education; and finally how did he understand the place of education within the Afghan society and in the life of Afghans. To do this we will combine a theory of cultural criticism that challenges the artificial distinction between high and low culture, with a social approach towards literary output. C. Ryan Perkins (Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA) Rahat Zakheli and the Rise of the Pashto Short Story Pashto’s first short story writer Rahat Zakheli (1884–1963) was born outside Peshawar and received a childhood education from his father before traveling to Delhi and Lahore where he studied Arabic, Farsi, fiqh , literature, and yunani tibb . In 1910–11 he started the Pashto newspaper Āfġhān where he published his first short story in 1917 by the title, Kun ḍ ah Jinai (‘Widow Girl’). He went on to write numerous other short stories and what is believed to be Pashto’s first novel Māhe Ru ḳ h . In this paper I examine several of Zakheli’s short stories and connect his literary efforts to developments in the Urdu literary world. Considering the historical synonymy between the terms Afghan and Pashtun and Zakheli’s work outside Afghanistan proper, this presentation questions the rubric by which the cultural legacy of Afghanistan is understood and argues for an expanded view 1 Bečka J. Traditional Schools in theWorks of SadriddinAynī and OtherWriters of Central Asia // Archív Orientální , 39(3) 1971. P. 284–321; Bečka J., Traditional Schools in the Works of Sadriddin Aynī and Other Writers of Central Asia II // Archív Orientální , 40(2) 1972. P. 130–163. 2 Bečka J . Tajik-Afghan Relations and theWriting of SadriddinAĭnī // Archív Orientální , 46(2) 1978. P. 97–111.