Graduate School
On September 2-3, ZI kicked off the Fall semester with back-to-back Orientations for new students and faculty. We are delighted to welcome students from far and near- Toronto, Mosul, and Mexico City; San Francisco and Sulaymaniyah- to our growing community of learners.
We are also proud to introduce new faculty members in both the Kurdish Language Institute and the MA and Certificate programs in Kurdish Studies. In our Kurmanji program, Songul Gundogdu, professor of Kurdish and Iranian linguistics, joins us from Muş Alparslan University. And on the Sorani side we are pleased to welcome Sarhad Hadi Taha of Salahaddin University (and our own MA student). Behrooz Shojai, a linguist and literary scholar from Uppsala University, joins us to introduce a new course in Classical Kurdish Literature for MA and Certificate students.
With a roster of thought-provoking and interactive classes and extracurriculars like our Wednesday lecture series (beginning September 18 with a panel on Kurdish cinema with filmmaker Mehmet Ali Konar and Sebahattin Şen), a lively Fall semester beckons.
Critical Muslim Studies Launch Event
On May 4, 2024, we celebrated the launch of our new MA program in Critical Muslim Studies with a lecture and reception at Fulton Street Collective in Chicago. After a warm welcome from Shahreena Shahrani, our Outreach Coordinator, Executive Director Ibrahim Demir introduced the new program by answering the question, "What is Critical Muslim Studies?" Mucahit Bilici then offered a keynote address on "Post-Islamism and the Flight from Religion: Turkey's New Secularization."
Bilici, Associate Professor of Sociology at John Jay College, CUNY, began his lecture by noting that there is a mass departure from religion in Turkey today, with atheism possibly the fastest growing "religion." As previously-religious individuals become increasingly secular, observers on all sides ask: Why are so many people leaving Islam? What are their reasons, and why now? The analysis of the phenomenon of the "death of God" among Muslims in Turkey was followed by a lively audience discussion.
Critical Muslim Studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on Muslim experience in a global context. Unlike more textually based Islamic Studies, Critical Muslim Studies approaches Islam and Muslims in the context of lived experience and history. It takes Muslim life as its primary object of study and thus underlines the relevance of the humanities and social sciences. It also sees critique not as a luxury, but rather as a necessity for both Muslim life and the understanding of it. Critical Muslim Studies places the study of Islam and Muslims in conversation with various philosophical and intellectual traditions, understanding Muslim experience in truly global terms.
ANNUAL LECTURE 2024
Sabri Ates Explores the Origins of Kurdish Nationalism
On March 2, Zahra Institute hosted its Fourth Annual Lecture on the campus of Loyola University Chicago. Kurdish community members and academics from neighboring institutions gathered on a beautiful early Spring day to hear Sabri Ates, professor of history at Southern Methodist University, speak on "The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism: The Sheikh Ubeidullah Uprising of 1880." In a talk illustrated with excerpts of recently discovered letters and a rare image of the Kurdish leader, Ates, a historian of the Ottoman-Iranian borderlands, gave a preview of his forthcoming book. His discussion of the rise of Kurdish national consciousness and agency in a context of two empires led to a lively Q and A and spirited discussion at a reception following the lecture.
Provides an introduction to Kurdish society and surveys major disciplinary approaches to key topics in Kurdish Studies.
Presents core structural properties of the Kurdish language, describes its geographical variations, and explores its genetic affiliation with other languages of the region.
This graduate-level overview examines the history and literary development of the Kurds from the seventeenth century to the modern era.
This graduate-level elective explores classical Kurdish literature from its origins to the early 20th century, focusing on major poets, writers, and socio-political influences. Students will engage with poetry, prose, and Sufi texts to understand Kurdish literary heritage.
Provides an introduction to Critical Muslim Studies and surveys major disciplinary approaches to key topics in the study of Islam and Muslims.
Surveys key issues and various contexts of contemporary Muslim life in comparative perspective including demographic changes, shift in authority structures, emerging popular culture, trends in secularization.
The Master of Arts in Kurdish Studies at Zahra Institute is the first of its kind in the United States. It examines the lives and culture of the Kurds, a Middle Eastern people living in Kurdistan and beyond, spread across the borders of several modern states and linguistic and cultural zones.
The MA Program provides excellent background preparation for a doctoral degree in any field related to the Middle East and for those interested in pursuing careers in media, government, and international organizations. Our liberal arts approach to Kurdish Studies is based on rigorous academic standards and a strong commitment to scholarly freedom.
ZI Apex Fellowship
Zahra Institute's Apex Fellows are junior scholars who receive mentoring from ZI Faculty as they develop their research agendas and prepare work for publication. To express interest, please email info@zahrainstitute.org.
Current Fellows
Zahra Institute welcomes two inaugural Apex Fellows for 2023-24. Fatma Kaya-Muguc studied psychology in Istanbul. Her current research interests include "the effects of the ISIS genocide and captivity on Kurdish and Yezidi women” and "the need for culturally-appropriate intervention strategies that might help these women process their trauma."Ahmet Ciftcioglu is a doctoral student in sociology at Loyola University in Chicago and is interested in social movements, the sociology of religion, and critical Muslim studies.
Kurdish Studies
Critical Muslim Studies
Zahra Institute is proud to be among the sponsors of Mehmet Ali Konar’s forthcoming film, Dema Ko Pelên Dara Guzê Zer Dibin [When the Walnut Leaves Turn Yellow]. The award-winning Kurdish filmmaker’s recent work includes Hewno Bêreng (Colorless Dreams, 2018) and Govenda Ali û Dayka Zîn (The Dance of Ali and Mother Zin, 2021).
Zahra Institute Certificate Program 2021 alumnus and graduate student at Florida International University
Our Kurdish Studies Certificate Program connects students with highly-trained, responsive faculty in a small-class setting that enables them to expand on their existing knowledge while exploring Kurdish language, culture, and civilization. For application information visit our Certificate Program page.
QWX Blog is an initiative of Zahra Institute. It provides a platform for researchers to share with a wider audience brief reports, timely observations, and commentary in their areas of expertise.
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