Photo of a group of students studying outside of LWH.

International Kurdish Studies Research Conference 2019:
New Perspectives in Kurdish Studies

July 24 & 25, 2019

The Summer Institute in Kurdish Language and Culture activities culminate in Northeastern’s International Kurdish Studies Research Conference, where students will engage with professionals and academics involved in Kurdish Studies at every level, expanding cultural competence while broadening their worldview. This conference is presented in collaboration with the Zahra Institute.

Program Overview

July 24 

July 25

All sessions take place in Alumni Hall North, SU 115

  • 8:15-9 a.m.
    Check-in and Refreshments 
     
  • 9-9:30 a.m.
    Welcoming Remarks
     
  • 9:30-10:30 a.m.
    Session 1: Conflict, Politics, Identity 
    Chair: Jeanine Ntihirageza, Northeastern Illinois University 
    ​​​​​​

    • "How Does Interethnic Victimization Shape Combatants’ Stereotypes of and Behavior Towards the Ethnic Out-Group?" 
      Matthew Cancian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Political Science 
    • "Self-Determination Claims of the Kurdish Political Movement within the Context of Indigeneity" 
      Aynur Unal, University of Leicester, School of Media Communication and Sociology 
    • "Kurdish Conflict and the ‘Kurdish Street’" 
      Ekrem Karakoc, Binghamton University, Political Science 
    • "Bi Perspektîfa “Hînweriya Lehengên Erênî” Tîpê Şoreşger ê Rûs di Romana Kurdê Rêwî ya Sehîdê Îbo de (The Figure of the Russian Revolutionary in Sehîdê Îbo’s Kurdê Rêwî)" 
      Mehmet Yildirimçakar, Bingol University, Turkey, Kurdish Language & Literature
       
  • 10:30-10:50 a.m.
    Q & A 
     
  • 10:50-11 a.m. 
    Coffee Break  
     
  • 11 a.m.-noon 
    Session 2: Kurdish Language in Context
    Chair: Rachel Harrell-Bilici, Zahra Institute 
     

    • "A Bibliographic Introduction to Kurdology" 
      Michael Chyet, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
    • "The Image of the Turk in Melayê Cizîrî and Ehmedê Xanî" 
      Ibrahim Bor, Zahra Institute, Kurdish Studies
    • "The History of Teaching Kurdish as a Second Language"
      Hewa Khalid, Koya University, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish Studies 
    • "A Collection of Kurdish Liturgical Texts in Hebrew, Assyrian, Arabic, and Cyrillic Scripts" 
      Ramazan Ergin, Independent Scholar, Turkey 
       
  • Noon-12:20 p.m.
    Q & A 
     
  • 12:20-1:20 p.m.
    Lunch 
     
  • 1:30-2 p.m.
    Kurdish Art in America: A Conversation with Lukman Ahmad 
     
  • 2:10-3:25 p.m.
    Session 3: History, Memory, Culture
    Chair: Ibrahim Demir, Zahra Institute 
     

    • "Collective Memory of Kurds in Diaspora" 
      Midya Khudhur, Binghamton University, Comparative Literature 
    • "Representations of Kurdish Musical Practice in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Travelogues"
       Jon Bullock, University of Chicago, Musicology Cultural Memory and Kurdish Madrasa Curriculum
    • "Cultural Memory and Kurdish Madrasa Curriculum"
      Mahşuk Yamaç, Zaytuna College, Berkeley, Islamic Studies
    • "Medrese and Sufism in Turkey’s Kurdistan (1923-2002)"
       Mehmet Mahsum Ozalp, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University 
    • "Zimanê Kurdî û Têgihnasiyeke Hevpar (The Kurdish Language and Collective Consciousness)" 
      Abdullah Kıran, Muş Alparslan University, Turkey, Political Science & IR 
       
  • 3:25-3:45 p.m.
    Q & A 
     
  • 3:45-4 p.m.
    Coffee Break 
     
  • 4-4:45 p.m.
    Session 4: Nashville Kurds: Notes from the Field
     

    • "Research Notes on the Nashville Kurdish Community" 
      Maria Volpe, John Jay College, CUNY, Sociology 
    • "Kurdish Identity in Nashville" 
      Dilman Yasin, Kurdish Professionals, Community Outreach Coordinator 
    • "Nashville Kurds as American Muslims" 
      Mucahit Bilici, John Jay College, CUNY, Sociology 
       
  • 4:45-5 p.m. 
    Q & A 
     
  • 5-5:20 p.m.
    Concluding Remarks 

Download a copy of 2019 International Kurdish Studies Research Conference Program.

Registration

The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be submitted online via the International Kurdish Studies Conference Registration Form. 

For more information about the International Kurdish Studies Research Conference, please contact Jeanine Ntihirageza at (773) 442-5873 or j-ntihirageza@neiu.edu or Denise Cloonan at (773) 442-4741 or d-cloonan@neiu.edu.