Ban Foundation Publishes 'Baneşan' Podcasts on Critical Culture in Kurdish Literature

A new podcast series titled 'Baneşan' is being published by the Ban Foundation. This podcast focuses on critical culture in Kurdish literature and consists of 12 episodes covering topics ranging from translation to feminist criticism.

Critical culture becomes the main focus of the podcast

Serdar Şengul and Ferzan Şêr, as the main presenters of the podcast, have prepared their programs with many guests. In the 12th episode, they explored traces of critical culture in Kurdish literature with Zulkuf Ergun. The guests and hosts engaged in deep discussions about the state of literary criticism in Kurdish culture and developments in this field.

The final episode of the podcast was released on January 27th and is approximately 22 minutes long. This project was carried out under the Civil Düşün Program of the European Union and received financial support from the EU.

Episode-by-episode podcast topics

The podcast has comprehensively showcased the diversity of Kurdish literature through its 12 episodes:

• Episode 1: Introduction and Podcasting – In this episode, Serdar Şengul and Ferzan Şêr introduce themselves and discuss the importance of podcasting in the Kurdish field.
• Episode 2: World Literature, its emergence, growth and diverse formations – The hosts analyze current and dominant trends in world literature and fundamental concepts in this field.
• Episode 3: Crises of World Literature and Oppositions within and against World Literature – This episode discusses crises in world literature and the breaking of its norms through non-central phenomena.
• Episode 4: Kurdish representation in Universal Literature – Research was conducted with Hesenê Dewrêş on the place of Kurdish literature within universal literature.
• Episode 5: Translation – The hosts held in-depth discussions on the crises and acceptances of world literature, the subject of translation, and the understanding of translatability.
• Episode 6: An Example from Kurdish Translation Experiences: LeWerger – With Yeqîn H., a representative of LeWerger, the experience of translation within Kurdish was evaluated.
• Episode 7: Women's Literature and Feminist Criticism – In this episode, women's literature and feminist literary criticism were explored from women's perspectives.
• Episode 8: Reflections of Feminist Criticism in Kurdish Literature – With Farangis Ghaderî, the reflection of patriarchy and feminist criticism in Kurdish literature was discussed.
• Episode 9: Literature and War – Under the shadow of the saying "he who doesn't go to war is a lion," the symbol of war in literature and production during wartime was discussed.
• Episode 10: Writing in Times of War and the Meaning of War for Writers – With Lokman Ayebe, the hosts searched for a unique response to war in Kurdish literature.
• Episode 11: Critical Culture – In this episode, Serdar Şengul and Ferzan Şêr discussed general criticism and local critical culture.
• Episode 12: The Bells of Criticism in Kurdish Literature – In the final episode, traces of critical culture in Kurdish literature were explored with Zulkuf Ergun.

Importance of the project for Kurdish literature

With this podcast, the Bane Foundation has attempted to fill an important gap in discussions about Kurdish literature. The podcast has broadly brought to the agenda different areas of literature such as critical culture, women's literature, translation, and the relationship between literature and war.

The first episode of the podcast was published on November 11, 2024, and until January 27, 2025, 12 episodes have been published. Each episode, with a duration between 10 to 50 minutes, explores topics in depth.

The Bane Foundation has stated in its declaration that this podcast is under their responsibility and that EU views are not represented in the content.

Source: Ban Foundation (Ban Bilim Kültür ve Sanat Vakfı), Botan Times