Dr. Amir Hassanpour is one of the most prominent Kurdish intellectuals and scholars of this century
who is originally from Mahabad. This section which is dedicated to him consists of a brief biography
of Dr. Hassanpour, a short description of his teaching and research interests,
and a list of his publications (books,
book
chapters, encyclopedia articles, journal
articles, book reviews) in English.
Amir Hassanpour was born in 1943 in Mahabad, where he went to school, and finished the last year of his secondary school at Dar-ol-Fonun Secondary School in Tehran in 1961. He began his undergraduate studies in economics at University of Tehran (1961), and finished a B.A. in English language in 1964. He studied in Teacher's Training College in Tehran (1965), and for a short time taught in the secondary schools of Mahabad in 1965-66. He was drafted into the Development and Extension Corp of the army and worked at the Land Reform office of Mahabad 1966-68.
In 1968, he began studying linguistics at Tehran University (M.A., 1970) and finished his doctoral work (ABD, 1972), while teaching for a year at the University of Tehran; he went to the university of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he studied communications (Ph.D, 1989), sociolinguistics and contemporary Middle Eastern history.
Dr. Hassanpour moved to Canada in 1986, and taught communications studies
at the University of Windsor and Concordia University in Montreal. Currently,
he is Assistant Professor at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern
Civilizations at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Hassanpour's teaching and research interests are diverse combining
communications and Middle Eastern studies. In communications, he has focused
on international communication; communication theory; media history; Canadian
communication and culture; broadcasting policy; language and media; and
diasporic culture. In Middle Eastern studies, he is interested in the culture,
language, and politics of the region, especially social movements,
media culture, and nationalism. A focus of his research is Kurdish
culture and politics.
Below is the list of Dr. Hassanpour's publications in English only. He has also published many journal articles in Kurdish which will be added to the list when they become available.
Nationalism and Language in Kurdistan, 1918-1985. San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1992.
Kürt Diliyle Ilgili Devlet Politiklari ve Dil Haklar (State Policy on the Kurdish Language and Language Rights), translated by Cemil Gündo an,Istanbul, Turkey, Avesta [Pubications], 1997.
BOOK CHAPTERS/ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLES
1999
(with Jim Winter), "Why the media speak the language of business and
government," In Bohdan Szuchewycz and Jeannette Sloniowski (eds.), Canadian Communications: Issues in Contemporary Media and Culture ,. Scarborough,Ontario, Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon Canada, pp. 83-92.
1998
"Language rights in the emerging world linguistic order: The state,the market and communication technologies," in M. Kontra, R. Phillipson
& T. Skutnabb-Kangas (eds.), Linguistic Human Rights (in press, Budapest,
Central European University Press).
"The identity of Hewrami speakers: Reflections on the theory and ideology of comparative philology," In Anthology of Gorani Kurdish Poetry, edited by A. Soltani, London, Soane Trust for Kurdistan.
1997
"Med-TV, Großbritannien und der türkische staat: Die suche
einer staatenlosen nation nach
souveränität am äther" (MED-TV, Britain and the Turkish
state: A stateless nation's quest for sovereignty in the sky), in Ethnizität,Nationalismus, Religion und Politik in Kurdistan, edited by C.
Brock, E. Savelsberg and S. Hajo, Münster, Germany, Lit Verlag,
1997, pp.239-78.
"Edeb," Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fascicle 2, p. 174.
Encyclopedia of Television, H. Newcomb (ed.), Chicago, Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishers.
"Captioning, Vol. 1, pp. 310-311
"Dubbing," Vol. 1, p. 533
"Language and television," Vol. 2, pp. 923-26
"Subtitling," Vol. 3, pp. 1590-91
"Voice-over," Vol. 3, p.1775.
1996
"The creation of Kurdish media culture," in P. Kreyenbrock & C.
Allison (eds.), Kurdish Culture and Identity, London, Zed Books Ltd, pp.48-84.
1995
(With J. Winter), "Building Babel," in A. Nelson & A. Fleras (eds.),Social Problems in Canada Reader, Scarborough, Ontario, Prentice-Hall Canada,pp.451-63.
(With Sh. Mojab), "The politics of nationality and ethnic diversity,"in S. Rahnema and S. Behdad (eds.), Iran after the Revolution: Crisis of an Islamic State, London, I. B. Tauris, pp. 229-50.
"Dimdim," Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. VII, Costa Mesa, California,Mazda Publishers, pp. 404-405.
1994
"Nationalist movements in Azarbaijan and Kurdistan, 1941-46," in John Foran (ed.), A Century of Revolution: Social Movements in Iran. Minneapolis,
University of Minnesota Press, pp. 78-105.
1993
"The internationalization of language conflict: The case of Kurdish,"
in E. Fraenkel and C. Kramer (eds.), Language Contact-Language Conflict.
New York: Peter Lang Publishing, pp. 107-55.
1992
"The pen and the sword: Literacy, education and revolution in Kurdistan,"
in P. Freebody and A. Welsh (eds.), Knowledge, Culture and Power: International Perspectives on Literacy as Policy and Practice. London: The Falmer Press, pp. 23-54.
1989
"Bayt [popular ballad]," "Bukan," and "Çahriq," Encyclopædia
Iranica, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Vol. IV, pp. 11-12,511, 644-45.
1988
"Bahdinan" and "Baradust," Encyclopædia Iranica, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Vol. III, pp. 485, 739-40.
1999
"modernity, popular sovereignty and the Kurdish question: A rejoinder
to Argun," Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1999, pp. 105-114.
1998
"Satellite footprints as national borders: Med-TV and the extraterritoriality
of state sovereignty," Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 18, No.1, 1998, pp. 53-72.
1996
(With S. Blum), "‘The morning of freedom rose up': Kurdish popular songs and the exigencies of cultural survival," Popular Music, Vol. 15,No. 3, pp.325-43.
"Sovereignty in the sky," War Report [London, Institute for War and Peace Reporting], No. 47, November/December, pp. 44-45.
(With T. Skutnabb-Kangas & M. Chyet), "The non-education of the Kurds," International Review of Education (special issue: "Education of Minorities"), Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 367-379.
1994
(With J. Winter), "Building Babel.." Canadian Forum, Vol. 72, No. 825,January.-February, pp. 10-17.
"The Kurdish experience," Middle East Report, Vol. 24, No. 4 (189),July-Aug., pp. 2-7, 23.
1991
"State policy on the Kurdish language: The politics of status planning,"Kurdish Times [New York], Vol. 4, No. 1-2, Summer/Fall, pp. 42-85.
1987
" 'Kurdistan Missionary'--unikt historiskt dokument," Svensk-Kurdisk Journal [Stockholm], Nr. 8, pp. 16-18.
1996
• The Making of Exile Cultures: Iranian Television in Los Angeles by H. Naficy, Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota Press, 1994), in Iranian Studies, Vol. 29, Nos. 3-4, pp. 378-81.
• Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan (by Matin van Bruinessen, London, Zed Books, 1992) in Iranian Studies, Vol. 29, Nos 1-2, Winter-Spring, pp. 200-204.
1995
• Kurdish Nationalism in Mam u Zin of Ahamd-i Khani (by. F. Shakely,Brussels, Kurdish Institute of Brussels, 1991), in Gzing [Sweden], No. 9, pp. 4-12 (in Kurdish).
1994
• Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and Autonomy in Twentieth-Century Iran (by T. Atabaki, London: The British Academic Press, 1993), in CIRA Newsletter,Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 10-12.
• A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan (ed., Gerard Chaliand,New York, Olive Branch Press, 1993), in Middle East Journal, Vol. 48, No.4, pp. 731-32.
• The Kurds of Iraq: Tragedy and Hope (Michael Gunter, New York, St.Martin's Press, 1992), in Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Vol.28, No. 1, July, pp. 90-91.
1993
• Getting the Real Story: Censorship and Propaganda in South Africa (Edited by G. Sperling & J. McKenzie. Calgary, Alberta: Detseling Enterprises Ltd., 1990) in Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 18, No. 2, 247-49.
• "Kurdish studies: Orientalist, positivist and critical approaches,"review article in Middle East Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 119-122; rejoinder,Ibid., Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 572-76.
• The Kurds: A Concise Handbook (M. Izady, Washington: Crane Russak,1992) in CIRA Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 14-16.
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