College of Social Sciences and International Studies

College of Social Sciences and International Studies

Critical Readings in Kurdish Studies
Module ARAM246 for 2021/2

Overview
Aims and Learning Outcomes
Module Content
Indicative Reading List
Assessment

Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ARAM246: Critical Readings in Kurdish Studies

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The primary aim of this module is to acquaint you with core texts of Kurdish studies and to help you read them critically, developing research skills that allow you to investigate topics and readings that may be of use in constructing a viable dissertation and to develop key disciplinary skills that may contribute to the wider MA programme. This module may not be used for direct research on individual MA dissertation topics; however, it may be used to explore topics of wider interest for a dissertation. For example, you may wish to develop your knowledge of specific subjects, which are not fully explored elsewhere in the curriculum, or to read specific texts (such as literary texts) with critical discussion.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate an advanced knowledge of core texts in Kurdish studies and of the development of this field of study; 2. demonstrate an advanced and critical knowledge of the texts you have chosen to study.
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. demonstrate analytically how to contextualize the readings, theories and approaches within the wider field of Middle East and Islamic Studies; 4. undertake research effectively, construct a bibliography and ground one's research within the field of Kurdish Studies.
Personal and Key Skills	5. demonstrate understanding and analysis of research undertaken, in oral and written forms; 6. demonstrate the absorption, critical analysis of readings and approaches undertaken.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

It is anticipated that the course will cover some of the themes below:

Definitions: How can we define ‘Kurdish Studies’ and ((given the Kurds’ unique position as a stateless nation) what is its place in the curriculum?
The Orientalist origins of ‘Kurdology’ and the arrival of Kurdish scholars
The recent expansion of the field across disciplines
Reading Kurdish texts (either written from a Kurdish perspective or in Kurdish language) in the field of: literature, history, anthropology, cultural studies, political science, gender studies, religious studies.
Discussion of these texts within their own context and within academic contexts

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
11	139	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities	11	1 hour initial group meeting; (4 x 1 hour) Engagement and discussion of readings, at times agreed directly with the tutor; (3 x 2 hour) meeting with course convenor and group in weeks 4, 8 and 11 of term; You will make a presentation to this group
Guided Independent Study	81	Investigation of sources and research
Guided Independent Study	32	Preparing and presenting the formative assessment and writing the final summative paper
Guided Independent Study	26	Utilising major web-based resources

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Kurdish Studies Network website https://kurdishstudiesnetwork.net/

Other Learning Resources

Relevant Journals include: Kurdish Studies, European Journal of Turkish Studies, British Journal of Middle East Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Presentation of critical reflection on readings	15 minutes	1-2: 5-6	Verbal

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	100	4000 words	1-4	Written

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay	1-4	August/Sept

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Kreyenbroek, Philip and Stefan Sperl (eds.) (1992) The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview. London: Routledge.

Natali, Denise (2006) The Kurds and the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Mojab, Shahrzad (ed) (2001) Women of a Non-State Nation: The Kurds. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Press.

Scalbert-Yücel, C. and Le Ray, M. (2006) ‘Knowledge, ideology and power. Deconstructing Kurdish Studies’, European Journal of Turkish Studies online

Soane, E.B. (1918) To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise.

Stansfield, Gareth (2003) Iraqi Kurdistan: Political Development and Emergent Democracy. London: RoutledgeCurzon.

Stansfield, Gareth and Shareef, Mohammed (eds) (2016) The Kurdish Question Revisited. London: Hurst.

Kreyenbroek, Philip and Stefan Sperl (eds.) (1992) The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview. London: Routledge.