Second International Conference on Kurdish Studies The Kurds and Kurdistan: Considering Continuity and Change

Since our first international conference on Kurdish Studies in 2009, the States where Kurds live have seen tumultuous events. The Iranian elections and their aftermath have been followed by the protests in Iraq, anger over the referendum and elections in Turkey, and huge violence in Syria.As many ask whether the so-called Arab spring will bring change to the Middle East, we would like to interrogate the very ideas of continuity and change themselves across a number of disciplines. Does complete rupture ever occur in history? Does regime change bring real differences in peoples lives? When migration brings change to individuals and families, what continuity is maintained in order to re-produce identity? How does language change and how far should linguistic change be managed? How should we study cultural continuity which exists over ethnic boundaries and international frontiers? What have been the changes and continuities within the field of Kurdish studies itself?