History
Kurdistan Studies Institute (KSI) was founded in 2000 under the name of Kurdistan Studies Research Center with the formal agreement of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology. It launched its activities as a research group titled "Kurdish linguistics and literature." With the development of its academic projects and research activities, the Center was promoted and re-established under the name of Kurdistan Studies Institute in February 2013. KSI conducts its academic projects and researches under three main research departments, including Kurdish Linguistics and Literature, Studies of Kurdish Culture and History, and Strategic and Developmental Studies of Kurdistan. KSI's primal goal is to conduct and motivate authentic and innovative research in the fields of Kurdish language, culture, history, and literature and to study the yet unexplored aspects and particularities of Kurdistan.
Projects accomplished thus far in KSI include the publication of the University of Kurdistan's Persian-Kurdish Dictionary, the publication of the quarterly Academic Journal of Kurdish Literature, as well as the publication of numerous books in the field of Kurdish language and literature. KSI has published forty books so far and held or participated in holding 16 regional, national, and international conferences, accomplished 16 extra-organizational and 12 intra-organizational research projects, 7 educational workshops, 3 commemorations, and more than 20 specialized meetings.
In 2010, KSI organized and held the First International Conference on Kurdish Literature at the Faculty of Literature and Humanities of the University of Kurdistan. This conference was followed by the First Conference on Ardalan Studies in 2011. KSI has also held three commemoration ceremonies to honor Dr. Maheen Dokht Motamadi (2014), Ahmad Ghazi, and Ahmad Sharifi (2015).
KSI has also had a significant role in introducing and inaugurating a Bachelor's program in Kurdish Language and Literature at University of Kurdistan and aims to introduce the subject at graduate and postgraduate levels in near future.
KSI offers regular training workshops and its valuable reference library, with its stock of more than 7,500 books in the field of Kurdish studies, is open to interested researchers and scholars.
The Scope of Activity
- Exploring, studying, and identifying the less-known and unexplored cultural particularities of Kurdistan as one of the influential cultural regions of Iran
- Challenging the dominant attitude about Kurdistan as a political entity and focusing instead on the diverse, unknown, and unexplored cultural, social, and economic dimensions of the Kurdish community
- Designing and illuminating authentic theoretical and practical studies in the field of Iranian native cultures and traditions
- Encouraging innovative and authentic research projects
- Encouraging research in interdisciplinary fields, with a particular focus on language, religion, culture, folklore, comparative literary studies, etc.
- The study of Kurdish Folklore
- Participation in the cultural life of the Kurdish community through adapting an academic perspective on a large scale
- Conducting research in the field of strategic studies with a particular emphasis on economic, cultural, and management dimensions in Kurdish districts
- Participation in developing theories of native economy and the deepening of its components, including justice and progress