An Intellectual on a Mission: Abdullah Jalal Fatah, his dissertation on Kurdish culture (1978) and heritage making inspired by Józef Chałasiński and Polish academia

Abstract

The paper presents a previously unknown doctoral dissertation prepared in the 1970s in Polish by Abdullah Jalal Fatah under the guidance of Polish sociologist Józef Chałasiński. The thesis, entitled ‘Development and Dissemination of the Kurdish Culture in Iraq’, bears the mark of communist ideology but also of Polish heritagisation, in which culture and intellectuals became an important driving force in the process of nation-building and in seeking international recognition. Following David C. Harvey’s definition of heritage, and focusing primarily on its intangible aspects, we suggest that Fatah’s thesis can be read today as an interesting document of Kurdish heritage-making inspired by Polish experience and academic tradition.