Call for Papers / Workshop: “Iranian-Kurdish Cultural Production: Past, Present, Future”, University of Exeter, 17-18 September 2018 – LIMITE : 10/06/2018

Iranian-Kurdish Cultural Production: Past, Present, Future

Venue: Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

Date: 17-18 September 2018

Funded by Iran Heritage Foundation and Centre for Kurdish Studies, University of Exeter

Submission Deadline: 10 June 2018

This workshop aims to open scholarly discussion on Iran’s Kurdish cultural heritage and its relation to contemporary Kurdish cultural creation. It also aims to analyse the current state of Iranian-Kurdish cultural production, its transformation, challenges and prospects. Iran is a colourful mosaic of cultures, languages and people, yet its pluralistic nature has not been fully represented in studies of the country. It is in the context of opening up this rich and varied heritage that this workshop seeks to examine and analyse the past and present Kurdish cultural production. While certain aspects of Kurdish culture, such as its music, are well appreciated and celebrated in Iran, other vibrant activities in literature, the visual arts and cinema are much less known. The twenty-first century has witnessed an unprecedented acceleration in the development of Kurdish cultural production despite various impediments. This includes a flourishing cinema, an emerging children’s literature, the establishment of literature and theatre festivals, the collection and publication of Kurdish folklore, and translation of world literature into Kurdish. We hope to open avenues of research into these vital areas that have hardly been explored before.

Potential themes of the workshop include but are not limited to:

–      Gorani literature, past and present

–      Kurdish literature in different dialects and languages

–      Circulation and perception of Kurdish cultural production in Iran

–      Dialogue between Kurdish and Persian arts (literature, cinema, etc.)

–      Kurdish music in Iran

–      Kurdish cinema and television productions in Iran

–      Collection, publication and circulation of Kurdish folklore in Iran

–      Festivals (literature, theatre, etc.)

–      Diaspora and Kurdish cultural production

–      Studies of individual artists and works

The workshop has been made possible by generous support of Iran Heritage Foundation. Accommodation, lunch, refreshment, and up to £100 towards travel expenses will be provided for the participants of the workshop. Please email paper abstracts of no more than 300 words with your CV to Dr Farangis Ghaderi (f.ghaderi@exeter.ac.uk).
The deadline for submission is June 10, 2018.