Inaugural Kurdish conference

The rapidly growing area of Kurdish studies reflects the pursuit for greater academic examination of Kurdish culture past, present and future. The Kurds constitute the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, yet remain relatively unknown in Western academic circles. As they are the largest group of people in the world without a nation state and divided between Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and the former Soviet Union, the study of their situation raises important questions pertaining to nationalism, identity politics, international relations, and social and cultural studies.

As part of the conference, world famous film director Bahman Ghobadi will be screening clips from his award winning films like Turtles Can Fly’, ‘Half Moon’ and ‘A Time for Drunk Horses’ to be followed by a Q&A with the director. Renowned Kurdish academics Professor Amir Hassanpour, a linguist at the University of Toronto, and political and social scientist Professor Hamit Bozarslan, L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Socials, Paris will be giving keynote speeches.

At this pivotal moment in Kurdish history, Dr Hashem Ahmadzadeh, Director of the University of Exeter’s Centre for Kurdish Studies explains the significance of hosting the international conference, he said ‘Four years after the establishment of our Centre for Kurdish Studies we are pleased to draw together some of the most significant scholars to discuss the important topics related to Kurds and Kurdistan from an academic point of view.’

Illustrating the convergence of literary studies, nationalism, and international relations is the research work of Ozlem Galip. A PhD student at the University of Exeter, she is speaking at the conference on the importance of Kurdish literature. She said ‘Kurdish novels exist in the main to pursue national identity and the aspiration for a homeland. The Kurdish language has been suppressed at different times by the dominant states which is why Kurdish literature is being used as a tool towards the creation of identity. The novel has joined newspapers as the major vehicle of national print media, helping to standardise language and encourage literacy.’

PhD students at the University of Exeter are making an impact on Kurdish Studies, such as James Harvey who has identified gaps in academic research he said, ‘I am interested in questions surrounding sovereignty and legitimacy in unrecognised states like Iraqi Kurdistan, and what kind of political space these territories occupy. I found that there was a significant gap in the analytical treatment of the ethno-political situation in Iraqi Kurdistan and a need to examine concepts of power and ideology in unrecognized states from a theoretical perspective.’

The Centre for Kurdish Studies has recently benefited from generous donations from the Ibrahim Ahmed Foundation and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq which has enabled the Centre to expand and also support MA and PhD students with scholarships. The MA in Kurdish Studies, the teaching of Sorani Kurdish, introduction of Kurmanji and development of BA degrees in Middle Eastern Studies with Kurdish and Arabic and Kurdish are all unique degree programmes in the UK. The University of Exeter is recognised as a leading centre of research in Kurdish research in the UK and a global centre of excellence in the field.