Reading ‘Mem u Zin’ as a tragic drama: London seminar

Analytical Study of Mem û Zîn

By Kurdish Book Club:

Kurdish Book Club presents a Seminar on ‘Mem u Zin of Ahmadi Khani’ by Dr Kamal Mirawdeli

  • Sunday 14th April 2013  From 15:00 -18:00
  • Birkbeck College, University of London, Lecture theatre B33*, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX

As part of a series of seminars, the Kurdish Book Club is pleased to invite you to a seminar about a newly published book in English. The seminar, which will be held in Kurdish, will be chaired by Dr Rzgar Amin. Mem u Zin (Mem and Zin) of Ahmadi Khani is one of the important and well-known classical Kurdish literary texts, which has remained without a serious critical evaluation by the Kurdish experts or by foreign researchers.

According to Dr Mirawdeli, there has not even been a real definition of the work, which has wrongly been defined generally as a national epic. This, he thinks, is a tragic matter because Ahmadi Khani created his work as an attempt to establish his Kurdish people as a nation and facilitate the ground for them to appreciate and promote their language, culture and heritage. To try to fill in this gap, Dr Mitawdeli has accomplished in recent years a number of works addressing Khani’s Mem u Zin:

  • Rendering the text into standard middle Kurmanji, published in Sulemani, Kurdistan, 2009;
  • Re-writing the story of Mem u Zin as a modern drama by the name of ‘Shorshi Ishq’, ‘Revolution of Love’, 2012; and,
  • Compiling a scholarly study of Mem u Zin in English published as a book of over 600 pages.

In the seminar, Dr Mirawdeli addresses his work, his methodology and the conclusions of his study, which includes:

  • Critical review of the works published on Khani;
  • Khani’s definition of his work, his methodology and his theory of Kurdish nationalism; and,
  • Define the work as a drama, tragedy, according to Aristotle’s criteria of tragedy.
  • Khani’s definition of his work, his methodology and his theory of Kurdish nationalism; and,
  • Define the work as a drama, tragedy, according to Aristotle’s criteria of tragedy, explaining the four levels of meaning identified by Khani himslef: as a story, as a pretext for his philosophical ideas, as a literary innovation and as a national cultural institution.
*Nearest underground Stations: Russell Square, Euston Square, Warren Street, Goodge St
Buses: 7, 59, 168, 68 and 188 all stop outside Russell Square.
The entrance to the Malet Street building is off Torrington Square. This is the only entrance to the main building.

Tel: 07939884687  E-Mail: kea1996@yahoo.co.uk   kea@kea96.org

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