Northwestern University has received a generous gift from Melih and Zeynep Keyman that will further strengthen the University’s Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies and increase knowledge about Turkey and its importance in the world.

“Previous support by the Keyman family made it possible in 2005 to launch Northwestern’s program in Turkish studies,” said Andrew Wachtel, dean of The Graduate School and director of the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies. “The new Keyman gift will allow the program to add class offerings, hold more events in the area of Turkish studies and develop long-term relationships with Turkish institutions that result in faculty, student and scholarly exchanges.”

Since its beginning, the Keyman Family Program’s ongoing con­ferences, speaker series, lectures and cultural activities on campus has fostered significant interest and introduced various aspects of modern Turkey to the academic community. To promote the study of Turkey BCICS again features a series of interesting events:

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Speaker Series: Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies

MODERN TURKISH STUDIES AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

In the last few years Northwestern University (NU) has made extraordinary progress in developing programs related to Turkey. Beginning in spring 2005, the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies (BCICS) have launched the Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies (MTS). Thanks to this program, Northwestern has strengthened its offerings on campus and developed sustainable relationships with Turkish institutions. These relationships introduced various new aspects of Modern Turkish Studies to the academic community, via ongoing communications as well as exchanges of faculty and students.

To promote the study of Turkey, Turkish language courses are now offered on a regular basis to the NU community. To further foster interest in and support ongoing scholarly activities, MTS features a series of conferences, lectures and cultural events relating to Turkey. The Program has also brought such luminaries as Orhan Pamuk and Fazil Say as well as renowned visiting Turkish faculty including Dilek Barlas, Yesim Burul Seven, Beyhan Asma, Ahmet Evin, and Haldun Gulalp to the NU community. Sevket Pamuk, one of the most prominent economic historians of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, will be the Keyman Family visiting scholar teaching courses in history and economics in the academic year 07-08.

MTS initiates and sustains active relationships with many Turkish institutions, including Bilgi University, Bogazici University, Isik University, Koc University, Sabanci University, and Yildiz Technical University. We also have an affiliate program which allows students to study at Bogazici University.

MTS also works closely with other parts of the Northwestern University, and welcomes the participation of students and scholars from throughout the university and the local academic community.. One measure of progress is the number of students concentrating on Ottoman and Turkish studies. The steady increase in undergraduate enrollments in Turkish language and area studies, as well as attendance at events signifies MTS’ significant contribution to education at Northwestern.

In collaboration with faculty and administrators at Bilgi University, MTS developed the "Summer Study Abroad in Istanbul" program for students of Northwestern University. This six-week program offers three courses by leading scholars in the field combined with study tours in Istanbul and its environs. This successful program has been enthusiastically supported and endorsed. The Turkish Cultural Foundation, for example, recently awarded significant support to BCICS for the program in Istanbul ( (www.turkishculturalfoundation.org).

In addition to conferences, speaker series, seminars and classes, the Keyman Program’s cultural events attracted a big audience on campus. A traditional ceremony of Whirling Dervishes celebrated the life and philosophy of Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi, the 13th century Turkish philosopher and poet, with attendance of 300 people. World-renown pianist and composer Fazil Say mesmerized the audience at Northwestern playing pieces from Beethoven, Mozart and Bach, in addition to his own compositions. Following upon the great success of that event, BCICS will host another gifted young artist, Zeynep Ucbasaran to give a concert at Northwestern University, celebrating the Republic Day.

Looking forward...

At Northwestern we believe that Turkey is one of the key countries in the world today. It is precisely the kind of modern, democratic, and secular state that the US would like to see more of in the Middle East. Our goal is to increase the awareness of Turkey and its importance to regional and world affairs. An appreciation of the successes and problems of Turkey is of crucial importance if we propose to continue attempts to change the face of the region. We are happy to know that there is a continuous support to our efforts. Recently, the Gencer Family generously pledged support to Modern Turkish Studies at Northwestern. We hope to use our designated grants as the starting point for an endowed MTS program that will encompass, in addition to events and visitors from Turkey, language education, and faculty and graduate student research devoted to Turkey. We would like to invite you to join our endeavor and to celebrate the success of this program .

Events:

BCICS and the Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies:: Wed 02/13 : 5:00 – 6:30 pm
Jenny White, Department of Anthropology, Boston Universit
Book Presentation: Abyssinian Proof

BCICS and the Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies are pleased to announce that Jenny White will be presenting her new book, The Abyssinian Proof on Wednesday, February 13th (Harris Hall 108, 5:00 pm.).  Jenny B. White is associate professor of anthropology at Boston University, and has been following events in Turkey since the mid-1970s.  She is the former president of the Turkish Studies Association and  of the American Anthropological Association , Middle East Section, and sits on the board of the Institute of Turkish studies.  Jenny B. White is the author of a number of scholarly works, including: Islamist Mobilization in Turkey: A Study in Vernacular Politics (2002), which was the winner of the 2003 Douglass Prize for best book in Europeanist anthropology, and Money Makes Us Relatives: Women’s Labor in Urban Turkey (second edition, London: Routledge, 2004).  Besides the numerous scholarly articles, Jenny B. White has also written a work of fiction, The Sultan’s Seal, which was the finalist ofr the Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award, and was also chosen as a Booklist “Top ten Historical” and “Top Ten First” novel.

Abyssinian Proof takes place in nineteenth-century Istanbul, and involves a conspiracy to steal an ancient reliquary whose secret could change the world.  Many of the novel’s themes in her thriller book are relevant to the events that are unfolding in Turkey today. 

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Previous Events:

BCICS Keyman Modern Turkish Studies :: Friday 11/30 – Saturday 12/01
Conference : “The Rise and Decline of Imperial Leadership”

One of the striking features of the early modern period (1400-1750) is the competition for economic leadership between Empires. Military and political power, more than ever, became a matter of control over economic resources, and conversely, political and military power were used to wrestle away resources from others. At the same time, technological change and political reforms in both military and civilian sectors changed the balance of power between Empires. All this, of course, took place in a world of increasing proto-globalization, as better trade routes across the world were established and the first-stage of the great cultural and ecological exchanges between the Continents took place. This conference will try to reset the agenda for the investigation of a competitive model of the rise and decline of Empires using a comparative approach that centers on the particulars of economic leadership in the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire and their Dutch and French rivals. Questions to be included in the conference are the impact of technology and trade on this competitive model, the cultural and institutional differences between European and non-European modes of Empire, and the effects of ideological and religious changes on the nature of the conflicts between the various Empires, and in the end, the impact of inter-Empire competition and proto-globalization on long-term economic growth.

BCICS Keyman Modern Turkish Studies :: Wed 11/14 : 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Yesim Arat, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bogaziçi
University, Istanbul, Turkey
“Gender Based Violence in Turkey”

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BCICS Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Round Table Discussion :: Tuesday 11/13 : 5:00 6:30 p.m.
Recent Developments in Turkey
BCICS Building, 1902 Sheridan Road

M. Sani Umar, Director, Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa, Program of African Studies, Northwestern University.
I. Kaya Sahin, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies, Department of History, Northwestern University.
Sevket Pamuk, Professor of Economics and Economic History, Bogazici University; Keyman Modern Turkish Studies Program Visiting Scholar at the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University.
Andrew B. Wachtel, Dean, The Graduate School; Bertha and Max Dressler Professor in the Humanities; Director, Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University

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BCICS Keyman Modern Turkish Studies :: Sun 10/28 : 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Zeynep Ucbasaran, Concert Pianist
Piano Concert
Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place

PROGRAM (Oct. 28, 2007)

L. v. BEETHOVEN       Sonata in D Major, Op. 28
                       
F. LISZT                         Aux Cyprès de la Villa d'Este, Nos. I and II
 
Funérailles

-intermission-

 A. A. SAYGUN            Sonatina, Op. 15

R. SCHUMANN         Faschingsschwank Aus Wien Op. 26

http://www.zupiano.com

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BCICS and the Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies :: Fri 05/04 :: 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Aysen Özyegin, Founding president of The Mother Child Education Foundation, Turkey
“Education and Social Problems in Turkey”
Annenberg Hall, 2120 Campus Drive, Evanston Campus, South Learning Studio 345

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Whirling Dervishes : The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony
Sunday, May 13 at 5:00 pm.
Tech Auditorium in the Technological Institute
2145 Sheridan Road

Previous Events:

Tuesday February 22 - 5:15 p.m.
Movie Screening: “Crossing the Bridge”
Discussion by Martin Stokes, Ethnomusicologist, University of Chicago
Library Forum Room, 1970 Campus Drive

THE KEYMAN FAMILY IN MODERN TURKISH STUDIES PRESENTS WORLD RENOWNED PIANIST AND COMPOSER FAZIL SAY.

Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies :: Sat 11/18 :
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. (please note the time change)
Fazil Say, Pianist and Composer
Concert and Lecture
Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place  

The Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies and CICS are honored to host the world renowned pianist and composer, Mr. Fazil Say.  Please join us at the Lutkin Hall, on Saturday, November 18, to enjoy a musical performance and lecture by Fazil Say.

Born in 1970 in Ankara, Turkey, Fazıl Say studied piano and composition at the Ankara State Conservatory. At the age of seventeen he was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study for five years with David Levine at the Robert Schumann Institute in Düsseldorf. From 1992 to 1995 he continued his studies at the Berlin Conservatory. In 1994 he was the winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, which gave a rapid start to his international career.

Fazıl Say is a regular guest with the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the St Petersburg Philharmonic , the BBC Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France and other leading orchestras across the globe. He has appeared at the Lucerne Festival, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival , the Verbier Festival, the Montpellier Festival, the Beethoven Festival Bonn, and in all the world’s leading concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Musikverein, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York, and many others. In the 2003/04 season he made debuts at the Salzburg Festival, Lincoln Center Festival in New York, Harrod’s Piano Series in London and the World Piano Series in Tokyo . His chamber music partners include Yuri Bashmet and Shlomo Mintz. In 2004 he made a major tour of Europe and the USA with Maxim Vengerov, appearing at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Barbican Centre in London, and the Salzburg Festival. He will tour Europe and Asia with Akiko Suwanai in 2006. 

For more information please visit : http://www.fazilsay.net

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How do we free the Market and Liberate the People?
Comparative Reflections on Developing Democracies and the Case of Turkey

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Location: NANO 4003

Panel I:  Building Liberal Democracies: Global Institutional Recipes and Local Failures
Paper:  William Reno, Globalization of the Shadow State?
Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.
 
Paper: Birol Yesilada,Europeanization and the States.
Political Science and International Studies, Portland State University.

Paper: Serhat Guvenc, Securitization of Democratic Politics: Restructuring the Military under Global Influence.
Department of International Relations, Istanbul Bilgi University

Paper: Jeffrey Winters,Fundamentalist Islamism in the Context of Democratic Opening.          
Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.

Discussant: Stephen Kinzer, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Panel II:  Social Costs of Neoliberal Market Reforms: Decreasing Social Trust, Democratic Capital?
Location: NANO 4003

Chair/Discussant: Gunes Murat Tezcur
Department of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago

Paper: Melani Cammett: Enhancing Neo-liberal Market Reforms and Redefining Social Welfare.
Department of Political Science , Brown University.

Paper: Eric Uslaner,How to explain Persistence and Prevelance of Corruption, Inequality and Trust?
Department of Government and Politics , University of Maryland.

Paper: Mine Eder (Department of Political Science and International Relations, Boðaziçi University) and Ali Carkoglu (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University) Rethinking Political Economy of Informality in Turkey: A threat to Democracy?
Paper: Georgi Derluguian, The Russian Mafia: Mutatitons, Evolution, Ecological Niches.
Department of Sociology, Northwestern University

Discussant: Keith Topper, Department of Communication Studies ; Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Panel III:
Religious Challenge to Democracy:  The End of (De) Secularization?
Location: Hardin Hall, Rebecca Crown Center, Evanston

Chair: Martin Marty, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Paper: Hannah Stewart-Gambino, Global Forces and Resilient/Changing Religions in Latin America.
Department of Political Science,  Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
        

Paper: Nader Hashemi, Change from Within: Islamic Challenge to Democracy.
Department of Political Science,  Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Paper: Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, The Politics of Religion: Europe and Islam.
Department of Political Science,   Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Paper: Janine Holc, Poland’s Challenge to EU Secularism.
 Department of Political Science, Loyola College in Maryland.

Discussant: Ersin Kalaycýoðlu
Rector (PresidentDepartment of Political Science, Isik University.

Panel IV: Changing Concepts of Citizenship
Location: Hardin Hall, Rebecca Crown Center, Evanston

Paper: Ales Debeljak, Citizenship and Identity.
Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor at Northwestern University, and Center for Cultural and Religious Studies, Institute for Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Paper: Kemal Kirisci, Changing Local Practices from Above:  European Union and Turkey's: (Un) Changing Refugee Policies and Nationalism.
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Boðaziçi University.

Paper: Kerem Oktem, The Historical Backdrop of Citizenship Policies in Turkey.
European Studies Centre · South East European Studies at Oxford St Antony's College, University of Oxford.

Paper: Bonnie Honig, Democracy and the Foreigner (To be Confirmed)
Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.

Discussant: Andreas Glaeser, University of Chicago, Department of Sociology.