Spring 2017

UMASS Amherst
ANTHROPOLOGY 397

Kurdistan, Nationalism & the Contemporary Middle East

Ahmad Mohammadpour (PhD. in Sociology, Shiraz University, IRAN, 2007)

Dept. of Anthropology
UMass - Amherst
Email: amohammadpou@umass.edu

The topic of the Class.

How do nationalism and nationhood survive in the globalizing world? How is identity sustained
or transformed in our global village? Through what mechanisms, do multiple territorial identities
resist global forces or what is often characterized as a new empire or neo-colonial configuration?
This course examines potentials and inherent challenges the survival or revival of national identity
are facing in the postmodern area. In so doing, the course studies such challenge by delving into
Kurdish case and Kurdistan, a political geography divided among four Middle Eastern countries:
Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. Kurdistan as geography locate on the important trade routes, and it is
the home of rich oil reserves. In the Kurdish political imagination, Kurdistan is an ancestral homeland
which many forms of restructuring efforts (often through violence). Today, Kurdish people find
themselves living across different nation-states (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria) Europe and the United
States which present a case of both hope and fear: Some Kurdish actors believe the emergence of some
of the confederalist democratic regimes could give birth to a form of ethnically neutral citizenship.
Also, parts of Kurdish polarity, like the one South, are juridically, administratively achieved a
measure of independence, and they utilize every single possible political venue that allows the Kurds
to act autonomously in the international arena, despite Baghdad’s suspicions and concerns which has
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recently unified the ruling nations against them. Thus, the course seeks to make sense of the various
nationalist projects envisioned by Kurdish actors for the future of Middle East.
The course will integrate discussions, approaches, and readings from different disciplines such as
Political Sciences, History, Sociology, and Anthropology as well news reports from various outlets.
There are no pre-requisites. It is intended for all students interested in the Middle East as well as
contemporary international politics.
The class structure consists of a mixture of discussion and lectures by the instructor around
common readings. We may also have guest lectures for which students will write reaction papers.
During class, we might discuss personal views, but we do not evaluate them.

Requirements and Grading:

Class attendance is required and forms part of your grade. Individual grades are a composite of
several items:

Class Participation 20%

Questions 10%
Midterm exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Final Paper (Short essay) 25%

Students will write a final essay; They are also offered poster presentation instead of writing a short essay
(3 to 5 pages).
As a discussion-based seminar, student’s participation constitutes a large part of their grade.
Participation means active engagement and creative thinking. Coming up with questions is often
more important than providing answers.
For each class section, students are required to come up with a couple of questions and submit
them to the instructor before the class begins. These questions are not summaries of the
lectures/papers but are critical reflections in light of what we have learned from the readings. There
will be one midterm exam during the semester. This exam will include few questions from the
readings.
Each student will write a final paper for this class. The topic for this article has to be approved by
the instructor. Final research papers will require a student to collect bibliography and read beyond the
assigned readings!
Students are encouraged to provide draft versions of the papers for comments. Drafts will not be
graded but will help improve the paper. The instructor will comment on draft versions on a first come
first serve basis. The final grade for the paper will not take into consideration whether a student
received feedback on draft versions of the paper or not.
As with all UMass courses, the honor code will be followed, and all assignments should be the
independent work of the student.

Structure of the Class.

(1) Lecture with class discussions and group work based on common readings. Class attendance
is required!
(2) Readings Questions. For each reading, students are required to write at least two questions.
The questions will be graded and must be prepared by each student individually. The Questions are
due on the day on which we discuss the respective reading. No late Questions will be accepted. If a
student misses the respective class, it is up to the instructor’s discretion to allow for make-up
questions.

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 (3) Midterm exam – final exam. There will be midterm and final exams using essay questions. The
date for this exam will be announced. I will distribute a study guide between students to help students
with locating and understanding main points and ideas for both exams.
(4) Field trips and Guest speakers. We will try to arrange for at least one field trip to a local
community center such as New Hampshire Mosque to meet people living in the area.

Readings
Readings are assigned on a weekly basis; each week contains two separate classes. Also, we will be
reading several papers that can be accessed through the UMass Library Online journals, or that will be
handed out by the instructor. Readings need to be done by the date indicated in the syllabus. The
student must download the readings (or get it otherwise) in a timely fashion to come prepared to
class. Reading means working with a text. Working with a text means:

(1) Making connections between past materials (discussions, readings, and lectures) and the
reading.
(2) Formulate questions to guide your reading. What is the main point of the reading? What’s the
primary argument the author is advancing? What evidence does she/he provide for the argument?
(3) Formulate your ideas about the readings.
Very often, these will be the questions I will ask students in the class to initiate discussions.
Reading a text just once will not be sufficient! Working with a text means to make notes on your text
periodically while reading, focusing on essential ideas, central themes, important ideas, or crucial
evidence. These notes will be the basis for your final papers, discussions as well as the exams.

After reading:
(1) Make sure that your notes make sense.
(2) Write down your questions and major thoughts.
(3) Use appropriate reference materials to clarify any words, concepts, or references you didn’t
recognize or understand.

* We will split the readings up into four groups each session. Each group of students will present
the respective readings to the class for discussion.

During the whole semester, students are required to scan different media outlets for news coverage
concerning the topic of the class (online). The different media to be monitored will be distributed
among all students. Approximately once every other week we will summarize and discuss the
different reports students found. Discussions will include a critical examination of the news, including
the content but also objective of the reports.

Preliminary Syllabus:
I have tried to keep the reading load as low as possible. However, I strongly encourage students to
read beyond the assignment as time permits. This might include making yourself familiar with the
authors, reading up on specific occurrences or looking at additional sources. We will divide the class
into groups; each one will be responsible for parts of the reading each week and sharing the content.
Showing films, movies, clips and other visual activities will be an integrated part of our class.

Weeks Topic Assignments

Class 1 Introduction to the - No Readings
Course - We will go over the syllabus, requirements, etc.
- Setting up reading groups.
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 - Explore different media outlets/websites/resources
for information on the Middle East, Kurdistan, and
Nationalist Movements in the region.
Week 1
- Also: What is going on in Kurdistan today?
- Be prepared for an open discussion
Class 2 Introduction to the - Introduction: The Idea of Provincializing Europe
Middle East and from Provincializing Europe: postcolonial thought and
Kurdistan (Kurdish historical, difference/ Dipesh Chakrabarty, 2000. Pp
issues across four 3-27.
countries of Prepare a short journal report (around 300 words) about:
settlement, Iran, - What we mean when referring to the Middle East, what
Iraq, Turkey, and comes to our mind?
Syria) - What comes to your mind when thinking about the
Kurdistan?
- What are the main socio-political trends in that region of
the world?
Use your common sense, what you have recently read or
heard on the news about the region.

Class 1 History and - Chpts 2, 4 and 5, from Middle East Patterns (by Colbert C.
Geography of the Held and John Thomas Cummings, 2015).
Middle East * Please provide maps (political, economic or cultural map
of the area)
-Chpt 5 from A Companion to the History of the Middle East
Week 2 (2005), edited by Youssef M. Choueiri, Blackwell.
Class 2 Nationalism and - The Origins of National Consciousness from Imagined
Nation - States Communities, by Benedict Anderson.
- Democratic Confederalism, Abdullah Ocalan, 2011.

Class 1 The Ottoman - Chpt. 3 from William Cleavland and Martin Bunton,
Empire and the (2013), A History of the Modern Middle East. Pp. 34-53.
Safavid Dynasty - Rudi Matthee, “The Ottoman – Safavid War of 986-
Week 3 998/1578-90: Motives and Causes”, In, International
Journal of Turkish Studies [0272-7919] Matthew, Rudi:
2014 vol:20:1 -20.
Class 2 The Ottoman - Chpt. 5 from William Cleavland and Martin Bunton,
Empire and the (2013), A History of the Modern Middle East. Pp. 75-95.
Safavid Dynasty - Chpt. 8 from William Cleavland and Martin Bunton,
(2013), A History of the Modern Middle East. Pp. 122-137.

Class 1 The Birth of the - Chpts 14, 15, 16 from A Companion to the History of the
Modern Middle East Middle East (2005), edited by Youssef M. Choueiri,
Blackwell.
Class 2 the Birth of the - Chpts 2, 3, 8 from The Contemporary Middle East (by Karl
Week 4 Modern Middle East Yambert, 2013).

Class 1 The Middle East - Part 4 from William Cleavland and Martin Bunton,

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 after the Second (2013), A History of the Modern Middle East. Pp. 253-322.
World War
Class 2 The Middle East - Part 5 from William Cleavland and Marin Bunton,
Week 5 after the Second (2013), A History of the Modern Middle East. Pp. 345-414
World War

Class 1 Kurdistan: Question - Kamal Soleimani, (2016) “The Kurds and “Crafting of
of Reality National Selves,” in, Kurdish Issues: Essays in Honor of
Robert W. Olson (eds. Michel Gunter).
- David McDowall, (2015) “The Kurdish Question: a
Historical Review,” In The Kurds: A Contemporary
Overview (eds. Philip G. Kreyenbroek and Stefan Sperl,
2015), Pp: 8-26.
Class 2 Kurdistan: Question - Philip G. Kreyenbroek (2015), “On the Kurdish
Week 6 of Reality language,” In The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview (eds.
Philip G. Kreyenbroek and Stefan Sperl, 2015) Pp: 53-65.
- Abbas Vali (1998), “The Kurds and Their Others:
Fragmented Identity and Fragmented Politics,” In
Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle
East, Vol. XVIII No. 2, 1998, pp. 83-94.

Class 1 Islamic Republic of - Chpt 5 from The Modern Middle East, by Mehran
Iran: Culture and Kamrava, 2013. Pp 139-170.
Politics - Chapts 20, 21, 22 from The Contemporary Middle East (by
Karl Yambert, 2013).
Week 7 Class 2 The Iranian - Fereshteh Koohi-Kamali (2015), “The Development of
Kurdistan: Past and Nationalism in Iranian Kurdistan,” In The Kurds: A
Present Contemporary Overview (eds. Philip G. Kreyenbroek and
Stefan Sperl, 2015), Pp: 136-151.
- Abbas Vali (2016), “Reflections on Kurdish Society and
Politics in Rojhelat: An Overview,” In Kurdish Issues:
Essays in Honor of Robert W. Olson (eds. Michel Gunter).

Class 1 Iraqi Kurdistan: - Chpt 4 and 18, from The Kurds in Iraq: The Past, Present,
Civil War, Anfal, and Future, by Kerim Yildiz, 2004.
and Ethnic - Chpt 1 from America and Iraq: policy-making,
Week 8 Cleansing intervention and regional politics (2009), edited by
David Ryan and Patrick Kiely.
Class 2 Iraqi Kurdistan: - Gunter, Michael. "The KDP-PUK Conflict in Northern
Civil War, Anfal, Iraq." The Middle East Journal 50, no. 2 (1996): 224-241.
and Ethnic - Chpt 7 from Iraqi Kurdistan: Emergent Democracy /
Cleansing Gareth R.V. Stansfield, 2010; Pp 1465-166.

Week Class 1 Turkey, Modernity, - Introduction from Modernity, Islam, and Secularism in
9 and Nationalism Turkey: Bodies, Places, and Time (2005), by Alev Cinar.
- Hamit Bozarslan (2016), “Political aspects of the Kurdish
problem in contemporary Turke,” In Kurdish Issues:
Essays in Honor of Robert W. Olson (eds. Michael Gunter).
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 Class 2 Turkey Kurdistan: - Cengiz Gunes, (2016), “Kurdish Political Activism and
Politics of Resistance Turkey: An Overview,” In Kurdish Issues: Essays in
and PKK Honor of Robert W. Olson (eds. Michael Gunter).
- Joost Jongerden (2016), “Colonialism, Self-
Determination, and Independence: The New PKK
Paradigm,” In Kurdish Issues: Essays in Honor of Robert W.
Olson (eds. Michael Gunter).
-
Class 1 Syria: Politics od - Chpts 2, 3, 4 from Jordi Tejel (2008), Syria's Kurds:
Denial and History, Politics, and Society, Routledge Advances in the
Dictatorship Middle East and Islamic Studies.
Week Class 2 Syrian Kurdistan - Chpt. 6 from Jordi Tejel (2008), Syria's Kurds: History,
10 Politics, and Society, Routledge Advances in the Middle East
and Islamic Studies.
- Rana Khalaf (2016), Governing Rojava Layers of
Legitimacy in Syria, Middle East, and North Africa
Programme December 2016;
https://syria.chathamhouse.org/assets/documents/20
16-12-08-governing-rojava-khalaf.pdf

Class 1 Women and Gender -

Chaps 4 and Conclusion from Women & War in the
in the Middle East Middle East (2009), by Nadje Al-Ali & Nicola Pratt, Zed
Books.
- Chpt 22 from A Companion to the History of the Middle
East (2005), edited by Youssef M. Choueiri, Blackwell.
Class 2 Women and Gender - Hardi, Choman. "Women's Achievement in
in Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan: Achievements, Shortcomings and
Class Obstacles." Kurdish Studies 1, no. 1 (2013): 44-64.
11 https://ideas.repec.org/a/mig/ksjrnl/v1y2013i1p44-64.html
- Nadje al-Ali and Nicola Pratt. “Between Nationalism
The Kurdish Women’s Movement in Iraq”, Middle East
Journal of Culture and Communication 4 (2011) 337–353.

Class 1 Diaspora and - Chpt. 15 from A Companion to the Anthropology of the

Travelling Culture Middle East (2015), edited by Soraya Altorki; Pp, 207-233
- Chpt 5 and 6 from Diasporas of the Modern Middle East
(2015), edited by Anthony Gorman, Sossie Kasbarian.
Class 2 Kurdish Diaspora in - Menderes Candan and Uwe Hunger. “Nation Building
Europe and USA Online: A Case Study of Kurdish Migrants in Germany.”
Week German Policy Studies, Volume Four, Number 4, pp. 125-
12 153 2008.
- Can Mutlu. “Kurds in Cyberspace The Kurdish
Diaspora, the Internet and its Impact on the Kurdish
Question
- Vera Eccarius-Kelly (2016), “Behind The Front Lines:
Kobani, Legitimacy and Kurdish Diaspora
Mobilization,” In Kurdish Issues: Essays in Honor of Robert
W. Olson (eds. Michael Gunter).

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 Class 1 Arab Spring and the - Part 1 from Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring:
Prospect of the Rethinking Democratization (2015), edited by Larbi Sadiki
Middle East
Class 2 Arab Spring and the - Chpts 22, 26, 27, 32 from Routledge Handbook of the Arab
Class Prospect of the Spring: Rethinking Democratization (2015), edited by Larbi
13 Middle East Sadiki

Class 1 The Emergence of - Charles R. Lister (2015), The Islamic State: A Brief
ISIS Introduction, Brookings Institution Press.

Week
14
Class 2 The Emergence of - Ahmed S. Hashim, “The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda
ISIL, Kurdistan and Affiliate to Caliphate,” Middle East Policy 21 (Winter
Neighboring 2014), pp. 69-83.
Countries - Eva Savelesberg (2016), “The PKK As The Lesser of Two
Evils? Kurds, Islamists and the Battle for Kobani”, In
Kurdish Issues: Essays in Honor of Robert W. Olson (eds.
Michael Gunter).

Class 1 Conclusion

Week
15
Class 2 Final Exam