New International Studies Unit to launch at our University

A new Kurdistan International Studies Unit is being launched at our University.

The School of History, Politics and International Relations, has announced the establishment of the Kurdistan International Studies Unit (KISU) with the aim of bridging the gap in institutionalised research in the field of Kurdish Studies, politics and International Relations in the United Kingdom.

The launch of the Unit on 16 March 2017 will be held in the Peter Williams Theatre (09:00 – 10:00), as the first session of the Unit’s inaugural Annual Symposium on the Role of the Kurds in the Middle East and Beyond: Regional and International Interactions followed by a series of focused workshops in the morning and afternoon on a large selection of topical issues.

Dedicated to the victims of Halabja, part of the Anfal Genocide, this event is the first of a series of annual symposia, seeking to bring together scholars to share and highlight research on Kurdish and Middle Eastern Affairs.

Dr Marianna Charountaki, Director of KISU, Lecturer in Kurdish politics & International Relations, said: “The Kurdistan International Studies Unit, in the School of History, Politics and IR, complements the need for a holistic approach towards the international relations of the Middle East as it raises the importance of the Kurdish role, covering all parts of the broader Kurdistan region and related issues of regional concern, in the analysis of regional and international politics. The underpinning objective is to increase understanding of the Middle Eastern reality and in particular the role of the Kurds and their interactions within the sphere of Middle Eastern Studies.”