Decolonization in Abdullah Öcalan’s Political Philosophy

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Honouring the 10th anniversary of the Rojava Revolution, the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Rojava in collaboration with the University of Bremen and the Center for Solidarity and Cooperation with Universities of North and East Syria (CSCUNES) organizes a summer school program on theories, methodologies, and practices of decolonization in Kurdistan and beyond. The summer school program will take place in June 2022 and have two forms of sessions: (a) closed seminars between MA students at the University of Rojava and the University of Bremen and (b) public seminars and workshops with speakers from diverse background of scholarship and activism on decolonization around the world. There will be simultaneous English-Kurdish interpretation for the public seminars.      

BERNAMEYA DIBISTANA HAVÎNÊ 2022  

Li Kurdistanê û Wêvetir Dijmêtîngerî: Teorî, Metodolojî, Pratîk   

Bi boneya 10’emîn salvegera Şoreşa Rojava, Enstîtuya Zanistên Civakî ya Zanîngeha Rojava bi hevkariya Zanîngeha Bremen û Navenda Piştgirî û Hevkariya ligel Zanîngehên Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyê (CSCUNES) bernameya dibistana havînê li dar dixe ku babeta wê teorî, metodolojî û pêkanînên dekolonîzasyonê ye li Kurdistanê û wêvetir. Bername dê di Hezîrana 2022an de û ji du cure civînan pêk were: (a) semînerên girtî di navbera xwendekarên masterê yên Zanîngeha Rojava û yên Zanîngeha Bremenê û (b) semîner û atolyeyên vekirî bi beşdariya kesên ji paşxaneyên cihêreng ku li seranserê dinyayê di qadên xwendin û çalakgerîyê de li ser dijmêtîngeriyê dixebitin. Di semînerên vekirî de dê wergera hevdemî (sîmultane) ji bo Ingilîzî - Kurdî he be.    

All seminars take place online via Zoom. Find registration details online at https://cscunes.com/ The summer school program will conclude with a joint symposium between students of the University of Rojava and the University of Bremen. Details can be found later on our website. 

 Public Seminars:  

1. Decolonization in Abdullah Öcalan’s Political Philosophy  

Speaker:  

Havin Guneşer, International Initiative Freedom for Öcalan - Peace in Kurdistan  

Öcalan takes the analysis of colonialism and the struggles against it to another level. He regards colonialism not only as domination of people and territories, but of women, workers, and society as a whole. What is necessary to deconstruct our complicity and to (re-)establish new structures of thinking?  

Wednesday, June 8, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fnQfKLUqQBSlnHOTMsjGHg  …  

Suggested Reading:  

Öcalan, Abdullah. Sociology of Freedom: Manifesto of the Democratic Civilization, Volume III. PM Press, 2020. 

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2. Everyday Practices of Decolonization: Lessons from Kurdistan and around the World  

Speakers:  

Ercan Ayboğa, Mesopotamia Ecology Movement (MEM)

Marcelo Vieta, OISE, University of Toronto 

Ana Inés Heras, Universities of San Martín and Buenos Aires, Argentina 

What does decolonization mean for the colonized, oppressed, and historically marginalized peoples of the world in building communities of resistance and survival?  In this seminar, concepts of social economy and the role of cooperatives in Rojava and around the world will be discussed. Presenters will talk about examples of building and practicing cooperative economy and ecological coexistence, and how these examples can provide insights in the actual practices of decolonization that can bring transformations in these communities.

Thursday, June 9, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8voG_S-HSi2oKQoXi_3_2Q

Suggested Readings:

Flach, Anja, Ercan Ayboga, and Michael Knapp. 2016. Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan. Pluto Press.  

Vieta, Marcelo, and Ana Inés Heras. 2022. "Organizational solidarity in practice in Bolivia and Argentina: Building coalitions of resistance and creativity." Organization 29, no. 2: 271-294. 

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3. Decolonization through Democratic Technologies: Explorations in Art and Mechatronics at the University of Rojava  

Speakers:  

Dani Ploeger, University of London 

Teachers form the Art and Mechatronic Departments of the University of Rojava  

At the University of Rojava, new directions in interdisciplinary research and teaching are developed in the fields of social sciences, mechatronics and art. One strand of this work concerns the development of visions and practices for a technological culture that is based on the principles of democratic confederalism. This work focuses on two main themes: the development of so-called ‘intermediate technologies’ (Fritz Schumacher) and innovation through incorporation of ‘mythological knowledge’ (Abdullah Öcalan).  

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IvCGBLkZRK2kCb9DjMOenA

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4. Jineolojî and Decolonization in Women and Gender Studies  

Speakers from the department of Jineolojî at the University of Rojava and the Jineolojî Center in Brussels   

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XAHaKp8xQZqvExfwLq6jTQ

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5. Kurdistan as a Site of Critique: Politics of Decolonization   

Speakers: 

Dr. Dilar Dirik, Refugee Studies Center, Oxford University 

Dr. Nazan Üstündağ, Independent Scholar   

Decolonization is a political issue, a form of challenging the dominant organization of the world. It also about the liberation of our imagination. This seminar will discuss some of the ways in which the Kurdistan freedom movement understands and practices decolonization in and beyond Kurdistan. It will particularly focus on the role and mission of women’s liberation in decolonizing different spheres of life from power and domination. Moreover, the seminar will explore the meanings of and approaches to producing knowledge for liberation on and together with a revolutionary movement in a regional and global political context of war, violence, and criminalization. In doing so, it will invite the audience to think about knowledge production on Kurdistan as an occasion to critique systems of power and violence in a manner that connects local to universal struggles for freedom and justice.    

Thursday, June 16, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dvErvcRQSPi5cUzsXNXnSA

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6. Çend Têbinî li ser Koloniyalîtê - A Few Notes on Colonialism [In Kurdish Kurmancî]  

Axaftinvan:  

Serdar Ay  

Şemî, 18ê Hazîran 2022 (Saturday, June 18, 2022) 17:00-19:00 Dema Rojava (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Lînk ji bo nav nivîsandin - Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NVlv-cTsQmC5zGya6UOZ2Q

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7. Alternative Knowledges, Alternative Universities: The case of the Inter-Cultural University of the Peoples in Colombia and the University of Rojava  

Speakers: 

Berenice Celeita, Director, NOMADESC and founder of the Intercultural University of the Peoples 

Şînda Dawud, University of Rojava  

This session will explore the role of Universities in promoting, supporting, and sustaining projects for social change and decolonization. In so many parts of the world, Universities have become part of the neo-imperial, neo-liberal infrastructure of global hegemony. Yet, at the margins, new and exciting models of knowledge-making, knowledge-sharing, and social transformation are emerging based on radically new values and missions. With the participation of two leaders of such initiatives, speakers of this seminar will explore the history, practices, and achievements of these institutions that both emerged out of complex, protracted conflicts. The first is the Intercultural University of the Peoples (UIP), that emerged in the early 2000s as a grassroots popular education process that brought together trade unionists, black movements, indigenous organisations, women’s organisations in the South West of Colombia, a region historically engulfed in political violence but with a strong tradition of popular protest. The second is the University of Rojava established in 2016 amidst the environment of war and destruction in Syria with the aim of building alternative educational institutions based on principles of the Rojava Revolution: radical democracy, coexistence of religious and ethnic communities, women's liberation, and cooperative and ecological economy. The session will explore context, strategy, and ongoing possibilities in the struggle for peace with social justice in and through new forms of education.   

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rZqJKOiYRKeyk03HNgsHGA

[IN SPANISH]  

Saberes Alternativos, Universidades Alternativas: El caso de la Universidad Intercultural de los Pueblos, en Colombia y la Universidad de Rojava

Esta sesión explorará el papel de las universidades en la promoción, el apoyo y el mantenimiento de proyectos para el cambio social y la descolonización. En tantas partes del mundo, las universidades se han convertido en parte de la infraestructura neo-imperial y neoliberal de la hegemonía global. Sin embargo, en los márgenes están surgiendo nuevos y emocionantes modelos de creación de conocimiento, intercambio de conocimiento y transformación social basados en valores y misiones radicalmente nuevos. Con la participación de dos líderes de tales iniciativas, los oradores de este seminario explorarán la historia, las prácticas y los logros de estas instituciones que surgieron de conflictos complejos y prolongados. El primero es la Universidad Intercultural de los Pueblos (UIP), que surgió a principios de la década de 2000 como un proceso de educación popular de base que reunió a sindicalistas, movimientos negros, organizaciones indígenas, organizaciones de mujeres del sur occidente de Colombia, una región históricamente sumergida en violencia política pero con una fuerte tradición de protesta popular. La segunda es la Universidad de Rojava establecida en 2016 en medio del ambiente de guerra y destrucción en Siria con el objetivo de construir instituciones educativas alternativas basadas en los principios de la Revolución de Rojava: democracia radical, coexistencia de comunidades religiosas y étnicas, liberación de la mujer y cooperación. y economía ecológica. La sesión explorará el contexto, la estrategia y las posibilidades en curso en la lucha por la paz con justicia social en ya través de nuevas formas de educación. 

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8.  Abolition as Decolonization of Peoples, Movements, and Knowledge  

Speakers: 

Ozlem Goner, City University of New York 

Joy James, Williams College

Zoé Samudzi, Rhode Island School of Design 

Berivan Kutlay Sarikaya, Trent University

Decolonization of academia, and more broadly, knowledge cannot be separated from the ongoing colonization of peoples and criminalization of movements and movement intellectuals. This seminar discusses abolition as a revolutionary theory and political action with an attention to ongoing criminalization of revolutionary movements and revolutionary thought and the work of imprisoned intellectuals. We will address broader themes such as criminalization and imprisonment as an ongoing process of colonization and work of abolition as an anti-colonial act, as well as more specific issues, such as whether there is space for revolutionary thought in a university setting and how to translate abolition politics into the making and disseminating of knowledge.   

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zji4H9RVTlWS10xx7N255Q

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9.  Indigenous Struggles and Decolonization: Theory and Practice  

Speakers:
Carlos Mamani Condori, Ciudad Mayor de San Andres (La Paz), Bolivia
Robert Caldwell, Hampshire College, US
Aynur Unal, Arden University, England

This seminar will connect the Kurdish liberation movement to global struggles for decolonization and indigenous sovereignty within Turtle Island (North America) and Abya Yala (Latin America). The Kurdish movement holds a long history of anti-colonial resistance against the oppressive ethno-nationalist Turkish state, which for a century has committed genocide against the Kurdish people, displaced and dispossessed them from their lands, and erased their culture through violent measures. In the Americas, indigenous people have also continuously organized and resisted the brutalities of settler colonialism and the nation state for the survival of indigenous cultures, relations, and epistemologies. In this panel, we hope to have a conversation on what it means to participate in decolonial movements, think decoloniality and indigeneity, and (re)create alternative forms of social organization, based on indigenous traditions and visions.    

Thursday, June 23, 2022 17:00-19:00 Rojava Time (16:00-18:00 CET, 10:00-12:00 EST)  

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VWCnMYCHQCWofolRKvUCNA