Heroes Across Cultures is a cohesive edited volume that critically explores heroism through transnational and comparative perspectives across diverse historical, regional, and cultural contexts. The collection advances the field of comparative and world literary studies by convening international scholars whose contributions expand the critical discourse on heroism within a global context. The contributors include established academics and emerging researchers in English and comparative literature who engage with questions of mythology, cultural identity, and narrative form. Their collective expertise, reflected in peer-reviewed publications, authored monographs, and international conference presentations, ensures both scholarly depth and methodological variety. The volume distinguishes itself through an international team of contributors whose diverse cultural, racial, and gender identities enrich the discussion of heroism beyond Western paradigms. The editorial approach emphasizes intellectual coherence, academic rigor, and inclusivity, ensuring gender balance and cultural diversity across all chapters. Alongside established traditions of literary analysis, the collection incorporates perspectives from underrepresented regions and fields, such as Indigenous studies, Digital humanities, African and Asian literatures, and diasporic narratives, providing a pluralistic account of heroic identity and representation. Heroes Across Cultures responds to an increasing scholarly interest in comparative frameworks within literary and cultural studies. Heroic narratives remain central to understanding identity, ethics, nationalism, and power across disciplines. The interdisciplinary scope of the volume makes it relevant to scholars and students in literature, history, anthropology, gender studies, and media studies. By situating heroism within a global and dialogic framework, the volume constitutes a timely scholarly intervention that reconsiders the heroic beyond national and cultural boundaries and demonstrates strong potential for integration into university curricula and advanced research.
Table of Contents
Introduction – Heroes Across Cultures: Rethinking Heroism in World Epics and Literary Traditions
Mustafa CANLI & Kanan AGHASIYEV
Feminist before Feminism: Nana Asma’u, the Heroine of Sokoto Caliphate
Sadiya İsa ABUBAKAR
The Matryoshka Hero
İsmail TEKSEN
A Semiotic Approach to the Heroic Epic of the Oghuzs, Saltukname
Tarık ÇELİK
Joan of Arc: The Heroine of France in History and Literature
Nihal TOPCU & Selma PARLAKAY TOPBAŞ
The Calculated Valor of Kingship – Bocchus I and the Performance of Masculine Heroism in the Epic Theater of North African Resistance
Omar ZORGANE & Kanan AGHASIYEV
The Poetic Paths of Alexander the Great – From Epic Glory to Ethical Story in Postmodern Poetry
Kanan AGHASIYEV & Omar ZORGANE
Outlaw, Trickster, Sage: Liminal Heroism in Hong Gildong Jeon
Pelin GÖLCÜK MİRZA
The Evolution of Heroism: Beowulf’s Journey Across Cultures and Time
Asım AYDIN
Between Borders and Faiths: The Byzantine Hero Digenis Akritas in a Chaotic Anatolia
Mustafa CANLI
Bamsi Beyrek of the Grey Stallion: Embodying the Oghuz Epic Hero in The Book of Dede Korkut
Ömer ÖZDEMIR
Beyond the Call, Beyond the Glory: The Monomyth Revisited in Gibson’s The Peripheral
Selçuk ŞENTÜRK & Mert Can BEKEN
