Methodological Approaches in Kurdish Studies

Reviews / Votes

This book is a timely and much-needed contribution to the growing literature on methodological and ethical challenges involved in conducting research in conflict settings. With a wide range of outstanding contributions from leading scholars, the volume fills an important gap on how ethnographic knowledge is primarily shaped by power relations. It serves as a stark reminder of the need to go beyond a standardized, one-size-fits-all approach to studying complex conflict environments. It is a vital resource for students and scholars of Kurdish studies, Middle Eastern studies, and those interested in conducting research in conflict zones. -- Mehmet Gurses, Florida Atlantic University Methodological Approaches in Kurdish Studies: Theoretical and Practical Insights from the Field is not only a must read for those interested in Kurdish Studies, but is a reference book for doing research in politically sensitive and unstable contexts. Contributors from various social science disciplines present objective and creative methodologies spanning from ethnographic to archival data. It is the first book in Kurdish Studies on the practical, ethical, theoretical, epistemological, and methodological challengesresearchers face and the innovative solutions they come up with while working in and about the "stateless" Kurds in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and diaspora. -- Ayse Betuel Celik, Sabanci University This massive volume not only opens new methodological, theoretical and epistemological avenues in the Kurdish studies, but also questions the very meaning of producing social sciences on the "risky" topics of the 21st Century. -- Hamit Bozarslan, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales For understandable reasons, the field of Kurdish Studies has long been dominated by an overt focus on the politics of the Kurdish Question and Kurdish identity. This has, however, resulted in the neglect of other important areas that merit scholarly attention. For some time, Kurdish studies has lacked self-reflective, critical research on the practice and politics of knowledge production within this field. This well-written edited volume, the first of its kind, makes a timely contribution to our understanding of the practical, methodological and epistemological challenges faced by scholars of Kurdish Studies. -- Welat Zeydanlioglu, Kurdish Studies Network