This Study Away program was designed to introduce students to the history and politics of Turkey, with a focus on identity politics. By learning about the historical events and personages that become central to a construction of an “imagined community” such as a nation, and then comparing these things to other identity constructions (i.e. alternate nations or identities), students developed a better appreciation for the most powerful motivating ideologies in today’s world. By learning about the identities of others, they also became better able to critically examine their own identity. The main focus for this trip was on Turkish, Kurdish, and Armenian nationalism and corresponding the religious identities, including secularism.
Visiting the U.S. Embassy and Touring the Turkish Parliament
Meeting Member of Parliament, Malik Ozdemir, and Playing Soccer with Syrian Refugees
By actually going to the places where crucial historical events occurred, such as Istanbul, the Gallipoli peninsula, Caldiran and the foot of Mount Ararat, the issues under discussion moved from the realm of abstraction to a more immediate, understandable, and tangible appreciation. Meeting the people of Turkey from various regions of the country also provided students with an appreciation for the diversity and complexity of identities in existence there. Speaking with Turkish parliamentarians in Ankara, diplomats in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, human rights activists in Van and villagers near the Iranian border, for instance, provided many different perspectives.
Visiting Cappadocia and Galipoli
Visiting Kurdistan and Istanbul