Turkish musician Ferhat Tun§ talks music and politics in a Duke class. Photo credit: Jon Gardiner

Durham, NC - The mountainous, bronze-mining province where Turkish musician and human rights activist Ferhat Tunç was born is called "Tunçeli" on maps. But Tunç as do all the people from there still refers to the region by its old Kurdish name: Dersim.

Growing up in Dersim, the 45-year-old singer picked up a few Kurdish songs from his grandfather, but he didn't learn to speak his mother tongue until about 10 years ago.

Last week, the musician and activist was at Duke describing his work. "In my hometown, kids were not allowed to speak Kurdish in school. We had to learn and speak only Turkish," Tunç said, speaking through a translator. "I'm a Kurd, but I can't speak Kurdish very well. That hurts."

Today, he sings in a "cultural sampler" of Turkey's languages Kurdish, Turkish and Armenian. And though he has sold millions of albums, his music is banned on the state-owned radio, and he has been jailed repeatedly on charges such as "inciting terrorism" and "insulting Turkishness." (The latter, Article 301, is the same legal code under which Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk has been prosecuted in Turkish courts.)

Tunç's numerous arrests brought him to the attention of Freemuse.org, a Danish organization that monitors human rights abuses against musicians. That's how Duke professors Louise Meintjes and Catherine Admay learned about Tunç and invited him to campus to speak to their class on human rights and the arts. (Click here for a report from freemuse.org on Tunç's visit to Duke.)

"What's particularly special is, you see artists come in for concerts, but you don't necessarily get a chance to talk to them and ask them questions," said sophomore Elizabeth Feldman, a student in the class.

"We spent a lot of time in class reading about people who are artists and dissidents. But to bring someone in who has lived it -- we got his perceptions first-hand, not filtered through some other lens," said student Gregory Morrison.

During the weeklong residency, Tunç also met with music graduate students, spoke at public panels and visited neighboring campuses. With Duke's Turkish students association, he debated the Kurdish question and possible roads toward multiculturalism in Turkey.

"I love my country. But I also demand that the citizens of Turkey can freely practice their culture and beliefs," Tunç said.

Ömür Kayikçi, a graduate student in biology, says Tunç's presence on campus, especially his concert in Nelson Music Room, gave her an "adrenalin" rush.

"I grew up with his songs. I'm from Antioch, near the border with Syria, and we share the same concerns with Kurdish people in Turkey," she said. "It was like I was back home."

Turkish restaurateur Inan Gürbüzer, who owns Tallulah's in Chapel Hill, agreed. "He's bringing our town Dersim to us, and we really like that."

Photo below, Tunç chats with Duke students and professors Louise Meintjes and Catherine Admay. Photo by Jon Gardiner