Writing Oneself into History: Queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and Foreign with Ervin Malakaj

Writing Oneself into History: Queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and Foreign with Ervin Malakaj Ervin Malakaj was born in Doboj. In the 1990s he lived as refugee in Germany before immigrating to the USA. After completing graduate degrees in German studies, he became a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he currently lives with his partner and dog. Ervin’s scholarly work focuses on queer and diaspora studies with a special focus on visual culture. He is currently completing a book of personal essays about live in the queer Bosnian diaspora provisionally titled Tetka Theory.What does it mean to write oneself into history when your existence sits at the margins: queer, Bosnian, Muslim, and foreign?In this episode of Diasporas Speaking, Dr Ervin Malakaj joins us for a moving and critical conversation on identity, displacement, and the radical act of self-definition. Blending personal narrative with critical insight, Dr Malakaj reflects on the politics of visibility, the weight of inherited histories, and the transformative power of storytelling. Together, we explore how queerness, diaspora, and cultural memory intersect and how speaking, writing, and remembering become vital acts of survival, resistance, and belonging.Intro music: North-Albanian Instrumental.Interlude: Himzo Polovina - 'Snijeg Pade Na Behar, Na Voće'