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SUMMARY:Online Lecture by Dr Güllistan Yarkın: The Emergence and Development of Kurdish Studies in Turkish Academia
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20260609T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20260609T123000
DTSTAMP:20260525T2101Z
DESCRIPTION:Event in English via Zoom: https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/j/67265733041?pwd=40T4ElqCx6KtajI9GcEjWzy07yVojI.1 (Meeting-ID: 672 6573 3041, Kenncode: 26971274)\n
Dr. Güllistan Yarkın (University of Hamburg)“The Emergence and Development of Kurdish Studies in Turkish Academia: Racism, Denial, and Academic Freedom” – Presentation and discussion\n
This lecture examines the development of Kurdish studies in Turkey in relation to broader dynamics of racism, ethnic exclusion, and denial within academic and political institutions. Focusing on the period since the foundation of the Republic, it explores how state policies and political developments have shaped the conditions of knowledge production and academic freedom.For decades, Kurdish identity, language, and history were systematically marginalized within official discourse and higher education. Until the 1990s, conducting academic research using the terms “Kurd” or “Kurdish” was severely restricted and could result in persecution or prosecution. In this context, the absence of Kurdish studies in Turkish academia reflects not only institutional limitations, but also broader structures of exclusion that have been discussed in the literature as forms of structural discrimination.The lecture traces how major political developments (including armed conflict, forced migration, and changing state policies) brought the Kurdish question into public and academic debate. In the 2000s, processes linked to EU candidacy and political reforms enabled a partial expansion of academic freedoms, reflected in the growing number of academic studies and theses on Kurdish topics. From 2009 onwards, the establishment of Kurdish Language and Literature departments and Institutes of Living Languages at several universities marked an important step toward the institutionalization of Kurdish studies within Turkish academia.However, this development was reversed after 2015 amid renewed conflict and increasing political repression, particularly following the 2016 state of emergency. These changes have led to severe restrictions on academic freedom and the displacement of many scholars working in the field.By situating Kurdish studies within the broader framework of racism and structural exclusion, the lecture highlights how academic fields are shaped by power relations and political contexts, and reflects on the role of universities in addressing these dynamics.\n
The event is part of the lecture series "Collective Responsibility: Racism (and Criticism of It) in Higher Education" in summer semester 2026. \n
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Code of Conduct of the project "Collective Responsibility: Racism (and Criticism of It) in Higher Education"\n
We understand colonialism as a system of exploitation, violence and inequality that is permeated by racism, which produces and reinforces it. Colonial history and its reappraisal is, in a critical-reflexive sense, the reappraisal of a "shared history", a divided history that must be analysed and understood in its global interconnectedness and continuities.\n
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Netiquette of the University of Hamburg\n
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