From democratization to terrorism, economic development to conflict resolution, global political dynamics are affected by the increasing pervasiveness and influence of communication media. This series examines the participants and their tools, their strategies and their impact. It offers a mix of comparative and tightly focused analyses that bridge the various elements of communication and political science included in the field of international studies. Particular emphasis is placed on topics related to the rapidly changing communication environment that is being shaped by new technologies and new political realities. This is the evolving world of international political communication.
Contents
List of Figures, Maps, and Tables / ix Acknowledgments / xi Transliteration / xiii
1 Introduction / 1 2 Discourse, media, and nation / 21 3 Kurdish identity / 47 4 Kurdish media: From print to Facebook / 79 5 Discourse practices of Kurdistan TV (KTV) / 95 6 Textual analysis of KTV / 107 7 Discourse practices of Kurdish internet /139 8 Textual analysis of Kurdish internet / 153 9 Discussion and conclusion / 169
Appendix 1: Semantic macro- Areas of National Identity and Linguistic Realizations / 187 Notes / 193 References / 223 Index / 243
Figures, Maps, and Tables
Figures 6.1 Screen shots of a KTV’s weather forecast / 121 7.1 A screenshot of the Kurdish web directory www.koord.com / 141 8.1 Kurdish leaders ... a video clip on YouTube / 157
Maps 3.1 Major Kurdish principalities (seventeenth century to 1860s) / 49 3.2 Major Kurdish dialect groups shown in the Greater Kurdistan / 59
Tables i.i Transliteration / xiv 6.1 Patriotic song “Kurdistan”: Lyrics, images, and music descriptions / 124 6.2 Analysis of over- lexicalization in the patriotic song Kurdistan / 134 8.1 The organization of popular media links on www.koord.com on July 10, 2007 / 167
To Dr. Amir Hassanpour, whose groundbreaking research into Kurdish language and media inspired and informed this study, and To Narmin, Hauna and Sarah, whose love and support helped me to complete it.
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Although a number of scholars predicted the demise of nationalism and nation in the age of globalization1 (Appadurai, 1996; Hobsbawm, 1990),2 nationalism has been identified as “one of the most powerful forces in the modern world” (Hutchinson & Smith, 1994, p. 3, see also Anderson, 1991; Billig, 1995; Hall, 1993; Malešević, 2006). Whereas previously nationalism was primarily viewed as the architect of the modern nation- state from the late eighteenth century onward (Deutsch, 1966, 1953; Gellner, 1997, 1983; Hobsbawm, 1990, 1988; Kedouri, 1993; Smith, 1998), its surge in recent decades has been seen as a response to the need for collective identities. Many scholars believe that nationalism is a force and resource promoting national identities both in nation- states (Billig, 1995; Calhoun, 1997; Madianou, 2005; Wodak, de Cillia, Reisigl & Liebhart, 2009) and also among nations without states (Castells, 1997; Kane, 2000; Guibernau, 1999, 1996).
Morley (1992) has suggested that “the construction and emergence of national identities cannot properly be understood without reference to the role of communications technology” (p. 267, see also Silverstone, 1999, pp. 19–27; Hroch, 2006). Research on the place of communication in general (Deutsch, 1953, 1966), and mass communication in particular, in the processes and practices of building modern nation- states started almost half a century ago (Anderson, 1991; Innis, 1951; McLuhan, 1962, 1964). In recent decades, more studies have focused on the place of media in forming and sustaining national identities in nation- states (Billig, 1995; Drummond, Paterson & Willis, 1993; Madianou, 2005; Price, 1995; Wodak et al., 2009) and also among stateless nations and national minorities (Castells, 1997; Guibernau, 1999; Hassanpour, 1998; Higgins, 2004; Law, 2001).3
The question to be asked then is why are the media deemed so important in this respect? In other words, how does media use ...
Transliteration
Since this study is addressed to audiences who may not be familiar with Kurdish and other Middle Eastern languages, transcription and transliteration are reduced to a minimum. English translation of Kurdish texts is provided without transcription of the original text whenever possible. Anglicized names have not been transliterated; for example, the name of an Iranian Kurdish filmmaker has been written as Ghobadi instead of its romanized Kurdish transliteration Qubadî. However, when the same name (i.e., Ghobadi) is part of a transliterated text, the Kurdish version of the name (i.e., Qubadî) is used. To transcribe Kurdish texts, I have used the Latin-based writing system that has been in use since the 1930s predominantly among Kurds from Turkey and Syria. This system has been used for the transcription of personal and geographical names, title of publications, television programs and websites, and parts of texts that are transliterated for the purpose of illustrating specific aspects of textual analysis. Romanization is done according to the following list of transliteration.
Acknowledgments
The author and publisher thankfully acknowledge the followings for permission to use copyright materials:
1. Amir Hassanpour (1992). Language and nationalism in Kurdistan. San Francisco: The Edwin Mellon Press. Map: Major Dialect Groups, p. 22; Map: Major Kurdish Principalities, p. 51.
2. Behzad Naghib Sardasht, for screenshot of www.koord.com homepage.
3. Barozh Akrayi, for the cover image, of the town of Akrê in Kurdistan-Iraq, taken in 2005.
Jaffer Sheyholislami
Kurdish Identity, Discourse, and New Media
Palgrave Macmillan
Henny Palgrave Macmillan series in international political communication Series editor: Philip Seib, University of Southern California (USA)
Editorial Board Members: Hussein Amin, American University in Cairo (Egypt) Robin Brown, University of Leeds (UK) Eytan Gilboa, Bar-Ilan University (Israel) Steven Livingston, George Washington University (USA) Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) Holli Semetko, Emory University (USA) Ingrid Volkmer, University of Melbourne (Australia)
Books appearing in this series
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The CNN effect in action: How the news media pushed the west toward war in Kosovo By Babak Bahador
Media pressure on foreign policy: The evolving theoretical framework By Derek B. Miller
New media and the new Middle East Edited by Philip Seib
The African press, civic cynicism, and democracy By Minabere Ibelema
Global communication and transnational public spheres By Angela M. Crack
Latin America, media, and revolution: Communication in modern Mesoamerica By Juanita Darling
Japanese public opinion and the war on terrorism Edited by Robert D. Eldridge and Paul Midford
African media and the digital public sphere Edited by Okoth Fred Mudhai, Wisdom J. Tettey, and Fackson Banda
Islam dot com: Contemporary Islamic discourses in cyberspace By Mohammed el-Nawawy and Sahar Khamis
Explaining news: National politics and journalistic cultures in global context By Cristina Archetti
News media and EU-China relations By Li Zhang
Kurdish identity, discourse, and new media By Jaffer Sheyholislami
First published in 2011 by Palgrave Macmillan® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
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ISBN: 978–0–230–10985–8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sheyholislami, Jaffer, 1960– Kurdish identity, discourse, and new media / Jaffer Sheyholislami. p. cm.—(Palgrave Macmillan series in international political communication) Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–230–10985–8 (alk. paper)
1. Mass media—Political aspects—Kurdistan. 2. Mass media and nationalism—Kurdistan. 3. Internet—Political aspects—Kurdistan. 4. Group identity—Kurdistan I. Title.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: June 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.
