Free Kurdistan/The third episode of discussion series Paths in Emancipation

Free Kurdistan: On National Liberation and the Challenge of Internationalism

Perhaps no other nationally oriented movement in the world today has garnered as much international attention and enthusiasm as the Kurdish movements in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and above all Syria. In a region that otherwise appears in the global media as a hotbed of authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and genocide, Kurdish movements have called for radical democracy, women’s emancipation, and cultural pluralism. But how well are they able to realize their visions in practice? Is it possible at all to integrate particular national demands with revolutionary internationalist ideals?

Join us as we discuss the prospects of the Kurdish movements with philosopher Siyaves Azeri from the University of Tyumen in Russia. He taught at the University of Mardin in Turkish Kurdistan until 2017, when he was fired for opposing government violence against Kurdish civilians. He’ll be interviewed by Joseph Grim Feinberg, from the Philosophy Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who will also provide a historical introduction.

Organized by Contradictions and the Municipal Library of Prague, with the support of the program “Relient Society for the 21st Century” (under the auspices of “Strategie AV 21”).

The link will be posted here

Other episodes
Episode I, "Black Lives Matter: Czech Edition," already online here

Episode II, "No Abortion? Yes, Abortion: The Black Protests in Poland," online here

11. 5. Against antigypsyism
1. 6. The labor movement today

Paths in Emancipation
This spring Contradictions: A Journal for Critical Thought and the Municipal Library of Prague present a series of discussions on emancipation. Each month we focus on a new theme drawn from contemporary social movements. Together with experts and activists, we’ll discuss the most pressing questions of our moment and delve into the longest-standing social problems. Because we know that the present moment will soon be history – but also that history is never entirely past. We’ll ask hard questions, because human freedom doesn’t have time for easy answers.