Zahra Institute

Graduate School

ANNUAL LECTURE 2026

The Cultural Foundations of Kurdish Identity in the Nineteenth Century

On Saturday, April 11, 2026, we are delighted to welcome Metin Atmaca, Professor of History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter, for a lecture titled “The Cultural Foundations of Kurdish Identity in the Nineteenth Century.” Join us from 2:00 to 4:30 PM in Conference Room 2001 at the Culinary & Hospitality Center, College of DuPage, for an engaging lecture followed by a Q&A session.
This event is free and open to the public.

FEATURED SPEAKER:
METIN ATMACA

Metin Atmaca is Professor of History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter. He teaches courses on the Kurds, the Persian-speaking world, world history, and modern Middle Eastern history. With support from the British Library, he currently leads a collaborative project with the Zheen Centre in Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan) focused on the preservation and digitization of historical documents. His research and publications span Kurdish emirates, Iraq, Ottoman studies in the Arab world, and biographical scholarship. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaedia of the Kurds, a comprehensive multi-volume reference work covering Kurdish history, politics, society, arts, architecture, cinema, media, and migration.

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SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



SHENAH ABDULLAH

Kurdistan Institute-Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung-Beirut

Food Sovereignty and Local
Farmers' Oral Traditions and Heritage


Wednesday, Feb 11, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

WATCH HERE



SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



ZAID BRIFKANI

Davita Dialysis Clinic/ Cookeville

A Conversation on His Novels
and the Kurdish Story from an American Perspective


Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

WATCH HERE



SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



OMAR SHEIKHMOUS

Independent Researcher

Future Pathways for Kurdish Politics: Autonomy, Sovereignty and the Middle East Order


Wednesday, March 11, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

WATCH HERE



SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



ALP EREN TOPAL

Ibn Haldun University

The Limits of Modern Islamic Political Thought: The Radical Ideas of Hoca Mehmed Sadik Efendi


Wednesday, March 25, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



HAJJAR BABAN

Muzzle Magazine

Silence as Form: Navigating Forced Isolation in Kurdish Poetics


Wednesday, April 8, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



RAMAZAN ARAS

Ibn Haldun University

Kemalist Colonial Modernity, the Kurdish Self and the Notion of Tawhid


Wednesday, May 6, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2026 SPEAKER SERIES



NORA ZAKI MANTAS
&
JAYE STARR

A Critical Muslim Studies Featured Panel: Muslim Chaplaincy in America Today


Wednesday, May 20, 2026
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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FALL 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



JON BULLOCK

University of Notre Dame

What's So Kurdish about Kurdish Music?
Perspectives from Ethnomusicology


Wednesday, Sep 3, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

WATCH HERE




FALL 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



MUCAHIT BILICI

John Jay College, CUNY

Malik Kurd: On Kurdish Sovereignty


Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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FALL 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



SALAH AZIZ

Zheen Center

Kurdish Studies Programs in the USA during the 1990s


Wednesday, Oct 1, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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FALL 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



ALMOST FREE:
A Conversation on Kurdish Contemporary Art

Moderated by: SENER OZMEN

PANELISTS
Nuveen Barwari, Huner Emin, Sherko Abbas
Gul Hur, Engin Sustam, Xeyal Kartal


Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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FALL 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



MAHSUK YAMAC

Zaytuna College

Kurdish Madrasa Culture


Wednesday, Nov 12, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



JANET KLEIN

University of Akron

Violence and Security in Kurdistan in the Long Twentieth Century


Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



AHMET KURU

San Diego State University

Populism, Islamism, and Nationalism:
A New Partnership Worldwide


Wednesday, Feb 5, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



JIHAN MOHAMMED

Vanderbilt University

Vegetarian Diet at the Intersection
of Kurdish Identity, Religion, and Class


Wednesday, Feb 19, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



FARANGIS GHADERI

University of Exeter, UK

Untold Kurdish Women's Histories 


Wednesday, March 19, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



CEVAT DARGIN

Columbia University

"The Black Box of the Republic":
Dersim '38 and the Making of the Modern Turkish State

Wednesday, April 2, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES        


OZAN AKSOY

Berklee College of Music

Music in the Lives of Alevi Kurds       

Wednesday, April 16, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



BENJAMIN RASSBACH

Orient-Institute Beirut

Imaginaries of Shingal as a Landscape of Resistance-Narratives around Yezidi Shrines Since the ISIS Genocide

Wednesday, April 30, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

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SPRING 2025 SPEAKER SERIES



MICHAEL CHYET

Library of Congress Retiree

Breakthroughs in Kurdish Lexicography


Tuesday, May 28, 2025
12:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM EST

WATCH HERE

Showcasing  Spring 2026 MA Courses

KRD 500: Approaches to Kurdish Studies

A core course for the Kurdish Studies MA, this class provides an introduction to Kurdish society through thematic discussion of Kurdish culture and covers major disciplinary approaches to key topics in Kurdish Studies.

KRD 512: Kurdish Media: History, Industry and Society

This course seeks to develop a critical understanding of Kurdish media through a focus on news, television, film and social media. Combining discussion informed by post-colonial and critical media theory and engagement with Kurdish media archives and professionals, the class investigates the relationship between power and media in the making of images and information on Kurdishness.

KRD 503: Research Methods and Academic Conventions

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. 

MA in Critical Muslim Studies

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.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

  • Contemporary focus
  • Global character: Brings together the experiences of Muslim majorities and Muslim minorities, especially Muslims in America and Europe
  • Gives voice to the missing Kurdish strand in Islamic Studies
  • Offers the convenience of an online synchronous program with the highest American academic standards
MORE INFORMATION

MA in Kurdish Studies

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.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

  • The first MA Program in Kurdish Studies in the US
  • A unique focus on the humanities aspects of Kurdish Studies including literature, music, visual arts, and cinema
  • Covers a topic area long overlooked by traditional Middle Eastern Studies programs
  • Gain access to the language and culture of approximately forty million people
  • Offers the convenience of an online synchronous program with the highest American academic standards
MORE INFORMATION

The MA program’s interdisciplinary approach bodes very well for the promising two-year journey that lies ahead.

MARWAN

MA Program Student

Being at Zahra Institute is a unique experience for me because I can learn about the history of my nation and share this knowledge with others.

NEDA

MA Program Student

The level of instruction, the level of professionalism of the professors was top of the line. I am very grateful that I was able to complete the Certificate in Kurdish Studies.

VIERELINA

Certificate Program Student

I had the invaluable opportunity to engage with the courses offered online by the Zahra Institute, focusing on Kurdish language, culture, and history. The classes not only deepened my understanding of these critical subjects but also played a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of my doctoral research.

Gabriele Leone

2022 Certificate Program Graduate

I was honored to be a participant in Zahra's superb lineup of Speaker Series in 2024. I think Zahra Institute is the leading place for Kurdish studies in the United States, transforming the academic landscape from even several years prior.

Michael Brill

2024 Spring Guest Speaker


QWX Blog is a platform for researchers to share with a wider audience brief reports, timely observations, and commentary in their areas of expertise.

LEARN MORE

Vierelina Fernández

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.

Certificate in Kurdish Studies

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ANNUAL LECTURE 2026

The Cultural Foundations of Kurdish Identity in the Nineteenth Century

On Saturday, April 11, 2026, we are delighted to welcome Metin Atmaca, Professor of History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter, for a lecture titled “The Cultural Foundations of Kurdish Identity in the Nineteenth Century.” Join us from 2:30 to 4:30 PM in Conference Room 2001 at the Culinary & Hospitality Center, College of DuPage, for an engaging lecture followed by a Q&A session.

Metin Atmaca is Professor of History at the Social Sciences University of Ankara and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter. He teaches courses on the Kurds, the Persian-speaking world, world history, and modern Middle Eastern history. With support from the British Library, he currently leads a collaborative project with the Zheen Centre in Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan) focused on the preservation and digitization of historical documents. His research and publications span Kurdish emirates, Iraq, Ottoman studies in the Arab world, and biographical scholarship. He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaedia of the Kurds, a comprehensive multi-volume reference work covering Kurdish history, politics, society, arts, architecture, cinema, media, and migration.

This event is free and open to the public.

REGISTER NOW

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