An event titled "From a Tale of Deception to the Academy: The Instructive Journey of Anti-Kurdology" will be organized in Kıraathane İstanbul Edebiyat Evi in Beyoğlu, İstanbul.
In this event, academician Alişan Akpınar will explore the history of the concepts of Kurd and Kurdistan, shedding light on the current dimensions of the Kurdish issue.
The event will be facilitated by researcher and writer Namık Kemal Dinç and will take place on Thursday, November 16, at 19:00.
From the promotional text:
"If you were a literate person living in İstanbul in the early 20th century, the concepts of Kurd and Kurdistan would be an ordinary part of your daily life. For instance, if you had graduated from high school, you would have studied a topic titled 'Kurdistan Geography' in your geography classes. While walking from Cağaloğlu to Çemberlitaş, you could pass by the sign of the 'Kurdish Constitutional School,' and you could buy and read newspapers and magazines such as 'Kürd Teavün ve Terakki Gazetesi,' 'Rojî Kurd,' and 'Hetawî Kurd' published by Kurdish intellectuals. It wouldn't even cross your mind to be surprised that a meeting organized by 'Turkish Societies' took place in the meeting room of the 'Kurdish Student Hêvî Society.' You would see Kurds as an essential part of Ottoman society and Kurdistan as a significant part of the Ottoman geography.
So, what happened that only 15-20 years later these two concepts were cursed and anyone who mentioned them was annihilated? How did it happen that Kurds were discovered to be actually Turkish? More importantly, how did an academic field emerge aiming to prove that there is no such thing as a Kurdish nation, a Kurdish language, or a Kurdistan? How was this academic field, which Malmîsanij called anti-Kurdology, constructed?" (FD/PE)
