Graduate School
While focusing on divisions and differences among the Kurds because of the creation of modern states in the Middle East, this course aims to show cross-border interactions, cultural exchanges, and trans-national movements.
This course is devoted to the exploration of the life and thought of Ehmedê Xanî (1651-1707) as an early modern thinker. Poet, diplomat, and thinker Ehmedê Xanî is a pillar of classical Kurdish literature and the author of the Kurdish classic, Mem û Zîn. Xanî's literary corpus and the sociopolitical background that gave rise to it will be examined in the context of intellectual history.
Explores the nature of the research process, data collection, and the main tools of quantitative and qualitative research. The course offers an overview of the research process tailored to Kurdish Studies and related interdisciplinary areas, focusing on interviews, ethnography, and archival research.
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 weekend of November 2-3 brought the first-ever Chicago Kurdish Film Festival!
Zahra Institute was proud to be among the sponsors of this important cultural event, joining esteemed institutions such as the Kurdish Cultural Center of Illinois, University of Chicago’s Department of Cinema and Media Studies, and DCASE (the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events).
The festival celebrated Kurdish cinema and culture, showcasing films that highlight the rich heritage and storytelling of the Kurdish people. It provided a platform for filmmakers, artists, and audiences to connect, learn, and delight in the diversity of Kurdish cinema. For more information about the event and future festivals, visit www.kurdsofillinois.org.
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.
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.
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.
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