The war raging in the Middle East has brought the topic of statelessness into international consciousness. This 10-week SDG delves into the background, history, and current status of two less frequently discussed stateless peoples: the Roma [Romani], (sometimes deprecatingly referred to as “Gypsies,”) and the Kurds, a cultural/ethnic group artificially dispersed among various nation states following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire post WWI. What happens to the language, customs, culture of a particular group when they do not inhabit a particular piece of property? Can their culture survive? We examine these and other related issues in Stateless: The Roma and the Kurds. (please note: no class May 20, June 24, July 15)
Week 1: The Roma pp. 1-36. Intro May 7 at PLATO
Week 2: The Roma pp. 37-83 Resistance May 14 at PLATO
Week 3: The Roma pp. 85-129 Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria May 27 at PLATO
Week 4: The Roma pp. 131-169 France, Spain June 3 at PLATO
Week 5: The Roma pp. 171-216 (end) United States June 10 at PLATO
Week 6: The Kurds pp. 1-30 Intro, Beginnings of Nationalism June 17 at PLATO
Week 7: The Kurds pp. 31-51 Iran, Iraq July 1 at PLATO
Week 8: The Kurds pp. 53-84 Turkey, Syria, Women’s Movement July 8 at PLATO
Week 9: The Kurds pp. 85-108 National Identity, Regional Government (Iraq) July 22 at PLATO
Week 10:The Kurds pp.109-134 Autonomy + Topics for further consideration: Tibetans, Rohingya, other groups July 29 at Plato
Core Texts:
Hendessi, M. (2024). The Kurds: The struggle for national identity and statehood. Agenda Publishing.
(141 pages)
Potter, M. (2025). The Roma: A traveling history. HarperCollins.
(216 pages.)
Additional materials:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people
https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/burmas-path-to-genocide/timeline
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/how-tibetan-culture-thriving-after-over-60-years-exile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKccny2ieP8