This lecture has ended. Thank you to everyone who attended. For a report on the day, please see the event report.

As the First Special Lecture in its series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," the Society for the Studies of Nation Issues will hold "An Introduction to the Kurdish Question: On an Ignored People and Their Agency." In addition to students, faculty, and staff of the University, members of the public are welcome to attend.

Overview

Event	Series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions," First Special Lecture "An Introduction to the Kurdish Question: On an Ignored People and Their Agency"
Date and time	Friday, April 17, 2026, 18:00–20:00 (doors open 17:30)
Venue	Room 109, Building 1, Komaba Campus
Speaker	Mr. Vakkas Çolak (President, Japan Kurdish Culture Association / Lecturer, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
Open to	Students, faculty, and staff of the University, and the general public
Fee	Free (* We kindly ask non-students for a donation toward running costs.)
Organizers	Organized by: First Special Lecture Executive Committee, Society for the Studies of Nation Issues Co-organized by: Kurdish Study Group, Society for the Studies of Nation Issues

Aims and Purpose

Background

The Kurds, often called "the world's largest nation without a state," are becoming socially close to us, not only through the situation in the Middle East but, in recent years, through the presence of their community within Japan. Yet although they are covered in fragments by the media and elsewhere, there are few opportunities to learn systematically about their historical background and the complex challenges they face.

Purpose

This lecture is held as the first in the series "Thinking About Ethnic and National Questions." We have invited as our speaker Mr. Vakkas Çolak, who combines the perspective of a researcher with that of a leader of the Kurdish community in Japan.

This event goes beyond learning about the current situation of the Kurds, who tend to be treated as an "ignored people," and focuses on their "agency" (their capacity as subjects to act): how they raise their voices amid hardship and seek to engage with society. Since it is held at the start of the new academic year, it aims to offer students, including new students, an "introductory" opportunity to examine ethnic and national questions from multiple perspectives.