Scholar in Residence

In January 2024, Jon Bullock, an ethnomusicologist at the University of Notre Dame, completed a three-week residency at the Hardi Cultural Center. Bullock’s research focuses on Kurdish music, sound technologies (such as broadcasting), and colonial power in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Iraq. During his stay, he conducted archival research at the Zheen Center for Documentation & Research. Reflecting on his time at the Hardi Cultural Center, Bullock said: “I stayed in the house in January 2024 during a research trip to Silemani. It was a delight to return each evening to such beautiful and comfortable accommodations after spending long hours crouched over books in various archives. The views of the city and the surrounding landscape are absolutely breathtaking, and the sense of peace and quiet was both welcome and refreshing. The house itself has everything needed for a stay of any length, including a well-equipped kitchen, and I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the gardens on the property. In short, the house truly felt like a ‘home away from home,’ and I’m immensely grateful for my time there.”