Workshop | “An ’Archival Turn’ in Kurdish Studies?” — IfEE Berlin, 24-25 February 2025
International Workshop organized by Adnan Çelik (CETOBaC) and Alice von Bieberstein (Humboldt-University of Berlin).
Since the early 21st century, the use of archives has gained increasing significance in Kurdish Studies. By “archival turn”, which has been gaining momentum more and more in humanities, we refer to a double phenomenon that seems likely to bring about a profound renewal of Kurdish historiography, namely the growing influence of archives that have become both numerous and diverse over the past two decades. The workshop will focus on the manifestations and challenges presented by the abundance of unpublished sources in Kurdish studies, with particular attention to Kurdish diasporas, transnational networks, and social, economic, and environmental history throughout the 20th century.
20th-century Kurdish historiography, aside from the recent rise in oral history, has primarily relied on British, French, and Ottoman-Turkish archives. This historiography has predominantly documented the first half of the century. Since the early 2000s, it has been enriched by the inclusion of Russian, Armenian, and Iranian state archives. This expansion has been accompanied by an initial diversification of archival types, particularly due to the digitization of some archival collections, as well as the incorporation of personal accounts and institutional documents from diaspora organizations.
The recent opening of state archives from several European countries for the Cold War era, along with access to the personal archives of key figures from the Kurdish student and intellectual migrations of the 1960s—constituting the first wave of the Kurdish diaspora—has provided a considerable amount of previously unpublished material. Additionally, the availability of documents from institutions and organizations created within this diaspora, along with other archival sources now accessible online, offers rich resources for documenting new areas of contemporary Kurdish history. This influx of material not only enriches our understanding but also prompts a re-evaluation of our conceptual frameworks for recording and interpreting Kurdish history.
Thanks to the abundance and variety of newly available archival sources—such as official correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, drafts of articles, meeting minutes, reports, assessments, posters, leaflets, as well as personal libraries, paintings, and other objects found in the archives of students and other diaspora actors—the “archival turn” has shifted the focus from a strictly political or politico-diplomatic dimension to the exploration of social history. This shift also raises theoretical, methodological, and ethical questions about the use and interpretation of these archives. In this workshop, we aim to present and discuss the new dynamics and research challenges associated with these developments.
In this workshop we aim to examine the role and impact of archives on knowledge production in Kurdish studies and address questions such as: How do different types of archives influence and shape our understanding of contemporary history and the Kurdish diaspora? How should we approach and integrate the political issues associated with archive accessibility? How does varying access across different periods and countries affect knowledge production processes? What insights do state archives offer, and what limitations do they present in terms of social history? How has recent access to a range of non-state archives—such as institutional, family, and personal archives—affected knowledge production in Kurdish studies? What are the methodological and interpretative challenges associated with each type of archive? More broadly, how might the proliferation of sources and the recent opening of Cold War-era archives impact contemporary political, social, and cultural historiography of Kurdistan?
The workshop will address the archives’ infrastructures, their set-up and management as well as the expectations and relationships with researchers that ensue from these. Contemporary concerns and debates about archives highlight the importance of digitization and access—especially when handling sensitive or private information. Restrictions on access, censorship, and property rights raise significant political and ethical challenges, particularly given that many of these archives remain in private hands.
Lastly, when addressing the question of the future, what kinds of future imaginaries do we encounter within these archives? What is the future of these archives themselves? What transformative potential do they hold, and what kinds of justice issues—historical, political, and social—do they raise? Finally, what might constitute an accurate ethics of care for these archives?
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Chargé de diffusion scientifique (13 février 2025). Workshop | “An ’Archival Turn’ in Kurdish Studies?” — IfEE Berlin, 24-25 February 2025. IISMM. Consulté le 22 mars 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/13bbn