Defining the Nation: Kurdish Historiography in Turkey in the 1990s

Hirschler, Konrad

Abstract

This article examines Kurdish historiography in Turkey in the 1990s. It centres on the question how the national community is historicised via central myths, especially for the pre-Islamic periods. As a source basis writings of members of the intellectual elite which are published in newspapers are used.
This article argues that identity in the Kurdish society is currently mainly constructed around an ethnic history, which assumes Kurdishness to be constant and which is based on a dichotomy between barbarism and civilisation. The discursive space for this historiography is mainly determined by Turkish national discourse in its popular version. Finally, a comparative outlook with the Iraqi case is suggested.

Citation

Hirschler, K. (2001). Defining the Nation: Kurdish Historiography in Turkey in the 1990s. Middle Eastern Studies, 37(3), 145-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/714004406

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2001
• Deposit Date: Apr 20, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 9, 2025
• Journal: Middle Eastern Studies
• Print ISSN: 0026-3206
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-7881
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 145-66
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/714004406
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/714004406