From February 19, 2024, an order was signed on the establishment of the “Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Folklor” at Khazar University. This institute will operate as a free structural unit under Khazar University’s founder, chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, Prof. Acad Hamlet Isakhanli. The director of the center was Prof. Ali Duymaz, and the coordinator was Assoc. Prof. Aynur Gazanfargizi.
Professor Ali Duymaz is the head of the Turkish Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Science and Literature at Balıkesir University, Türkiye. Also, he is a Commission Member in the Delegation of Türkiye to UNESCO. Previously, he worked as vice-rector and dean at Balıkesir University. He has researches on many valuable topics in Turkish folklore studies, especially in the fields of epics, Turkish mythology, folklore of Turkic peoples.
Assoc. Prof. Aynur Ghazanfargizi has been teaching at Khazar University since 2017. Since 2019, she has been working as a full-time teacher of the Department of Languages and Literatures. Prior to this, she held positions at the ANAS Institute of Folklore and Baku Eurasian University. From 2019 to 2021, she taught Azerbaijani language at Hebei Foreign Studies University, China. Her research interests encompass Kumuk folklore, Turkic mythology, and Tengrism.
The initial lineup of the center comprises 28 individuals, including 14 professors, 7 associate professors, 4 Ph.D. holders, and 3 other members. These members hail from philology research institutions across various countries, including Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia (Dagestan MR, Gorno Altaysk, Crimea, Tatarstan), Hungary, Moldova, Sweden, Georgia, and Iraq. The institute’s website is currently under development, and updates will be shared once it is ready. Gratitude is expressed to Mr. Hamlet Isakhanli and Mrs. Irada Khalilova for their support in establishing the institute.
Note that the institute was established after the order of Hamlet Isakhanli, Khazar University’s founder, chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, regarding the establishment of research centers.