Erasing the Margins: Kurdish Scholars’ Voices on the Erosion of Academic Freedom in Turkey

• In Event: Critical Race Perspectives in Education

Abstract

Following the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, President Erdoğan’s regime intensified its crackdown on academic freedom. Academics allegedly linked to a social movement, Kurdish issues, and signatories of a peace petition were labeled as “terrorists,” resulting in an unprecedented purge that forced many into exile. This presentation draws on a dissertation study that used constructivist grounded theory to examine the experiences of Turkish academics who lost their academic freedom and fled to Western countries, focusing on those persecuted for being Kurdish or working on Kurdish issues. The findings reveal how state-sponsored narratives reinforced the structural marginalization of Kurds, while also highlighting the enduring efforts of these academics to amplify historically silenced Kurdish voices and advocate for their rights.

Authors

• Clarisse Halpern, Florida Gulf Coast University

• Hasan Aydin, Florida Gulf Coast University