Monday, December 01, 2014

A New Issue: Sociology of Islam Journal - Volume 2, Issue 1-2, 2014

Sociology of Islam
Volume 2, Issue 1-2, 2014    
ISSN: 2213-140X    
E-ISSN: 2213-1418
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/22131418/2/1-2/
A Genealogy of Muslims Dying in France

Author: Nur Yasemin Ural
pp.:1–20 (20)
Toward a Theory of “Islamist Movements”

Author: Mark Gould
pp.:21–59 (39)
G. Banna’s and A. Fadlallah’s Views on Dancing

Author: Joseph Alagha
pp.:60–86 (27)
Book Review: Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom Beyond America, written by Sohail Daulatzai

Author: Thomas Maguire
pp.:87–90 (4)
Book Review: Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent, written by Burjor Avari

Author: Ali Altaf Mian
pp.:91–93 (3)
Book Review: Living Out Islam: Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims, written by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Author: Gary Wood
pp.:94–98 (5)
Book Review: Why the West Fears Islam: An Exploration of Muslims in Liberal Democracies, written by Jocelyne Cesari

Author: Najm al-Din Yousefi
pp.:99–101 (3)

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

An Interview with Prof. Donald Quataert on Academic Freedom, the Armenian Issue and Turkish Studies


By Tugrul Keskin

Assistant Professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies
Portland State University
I interviewed Dr. Donald Quataert, a historian at Binghamton University – State University of New York, on academic freedom, the Armenian Issue and Turkish Studies. Dr. Quataert was a chairperson of the Board of Governors at the Institute of Turkish Studies and he resigned from this position in 2006 as a result of controversial book review, ‘the Massacres of Ottoman Armenians and the Writing of Ottoman History,’ published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History in 2006. According to some sources, such as the articles published in the Inside Higher Education by Scott Jaschik on July 1 2008[1], and Huffington Post by Harut Sassounian on June 3, 2008[2], Nabi Sensoy, Turkish ambassador in Washington DC implied that Dr. Donald Quataert should consider resigning from his position. This incident should deeply concern us as academicians who value free speech; therefore, my interview aims to explore the controversy that fueled his resignation. At the center of this debate over free speech is whether political actors should be allowed to interfere with academic research in the name of national interests. I have received similar types of threats and I was warned not to write critically of the Turkish government’s policies by two Turkish government officials in Washington DC; therefore, I am inclined to pay more attention to this subject. Even tough, I strongly disagree with using the term ‘Armenian Genocide;’ however, we must ensure that political actors are not manipulating academic discussions. Free speech should be protected whether we agree or not.  In short, as commonly attributed to Voltaire, I strongly agree with following quotation: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (originated in “Friends of Voltaire”, 1906, by S.G. Tallentyre).
Donald Quataert is an Ottoman and Turkish Historian at Binghamton University - State University of New York. He received his Ph.D. degree in History from UCLA. He has published numerous books and articles on Ottoman History, such as The Ottoman Empire: 1700-1922 by Cambridge University Press. He speaks Ottoman Turkish, modern Turkish, German, French and Spanish. Professor Donald Quataert was a chairperson of the Board of Governors at the Institute of Turkish Studies and he resigned from this position in 2006.
Professor, History, Binghamton University State University of New York Binghamton, New York 13902-6000

Tugrul Keskin: Why did you resign from the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) at Georgetown University? I have read that you were told to resign by a high Turkish official in the US. Is that correct? Would you please explain the entire situation regarding what happened and why it happened?
Donald Quataert: The Institute is not part of Georgetown, it is only located there. I have attached the letter of resignation which I sent to the Ambassador and to all members and associate members of the ITS. The issue revolved around the book review. The Director of the Institute urged me to talk to the Ambassador because he, the Director David Cuthell, had heard rumors that the embassy was upset because Ankara had learned of the review and was very upset.  So, I called the Ambassador and we had a cordial conversation.  I was never told to resign; rather, the Ambassador made it clear that persons in Ankara had threatened to withdraw the funding of ITS, should I remain as ITS chairman.  He never asked me to resign, but simply told me what some people in Ankara were thinking.  The Ambassador encouraged me to remain as a member should I decide to resign as chair.

Tugrul Keskin: Do you think this was a suggestion or was it a direct instruction to resign? 

Donald Quataert It was neither—rather it was the ambassador informing me of sentiments in Ankara.  When I asked if there was a real chance that the funds would be withdrawn should I not resign as chair, the Ambassador said there was such a real possibility.

Tugrul Keskin: What I have heard is that someone in the US sent your article, "The Massacres of Ottoman Armenians," to a former Turkish ambassador, Sukru Elekdag. From what I understand, your resignation process began at this point. Can you please clarify?

Donald Quataert: I heard the same report from a colleague.  I do not choose to name the scholar in the US, who is of Turkish origins, who informed the officials in Ankara.  Ambassador Elekdag’s name was given to me as one of the officials who was deeply upset at my review.

Tugrul Keskin: Do you think the way that this took place conflicts with academic freedom? 

Donald Quataert: Of course it conflicts with academic freedom.  I do not expect agreement with my views, but I do expect to have the right to express those views.  I believe that academic freedom demands that I have the right to express my views and at the same time to be the officer, even the chair, of an organization.  When expressing my views, as long I as do not identify myself as the chair or officer; I have the right to my views.  When I wrote the review, I signed my name as Professor of History, Binghamton University.   According to the dictates of academic freedom, the Institute was not involved.

Tugrul Keskin: Some people claim that in your short article, "The Massacres of Ottoman Armenians" published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History in 2006, you claim that the Armenians were massacred in Ottoman Turkey. Is this true?

Donald Quataert: I suggest that people read the review—and yes, I do write that Armenians were massacred during the late Ottoman Empire.

Tugrul Keskin: On the one side, in the US, the Armenian lobby has been using so-called 'genocide politics' in order to maintain power and ethnic solidarity for Armenians; on the other side, some Turkish scholars and organizations in the US are using the Armenian issue to receive more financial support from Turkey, and this issue becomes their occupation. I believe this is ethically wrong. What is your perspective? 

Donald Quataert: If what you say is true, then I would agree that it is ethically wrong.  I do not pretend to be a specialist on émigré politics in the US.  My task is to study Ottoman history.  For my views on Ottoman history, see the seven books I have authored or the fourteen books I have edited or co-edited.

Tugrul Keskin: What are the mistakes of both sides: Turks and Armenians in the US? 

Donald Quataert: No comment.

Tugrul Keskin: How can the conflict between Armenians and Turks be solved peacefully? Can Turks and Armenians become two friendly nations again? 

Donald Quataert: Yes. The question is—is the fate of the Ottoman Armenians an issue blocking peaceful relations? If so, why is this so? If so, how can these issues be addressed? A beginning step, but not an easy one, to allow free and open discourse within each community. 

Tugrul Keskin: I am not a historian on Armenian and Turkish relations; I am a sociologist, however, as far as I know there was no real conflict between Armenians and Turks until the late 19th century, actually, until arrival of British or European imperialism into the region. Imperialism, in the sense that it makes ethnic groups enemies to each other in the region for purposes of exploitation Do you think the conflict between Armenians and Turks is a product of imperialism?

Donald Quataert: Muslims and Christians during the Ottoman era were aware of differences between them and there was occasional violence before the 19th century.  But when the twin forces of imperialism and nationalism entered the Ottoman world, Muslim-Christian relations deteriorated badly, giving rise to ever-higher levels of violence.  And yet, the massive violence of 1915 against the Ottoman Armenians was not inevitable but rather the product of very specific historical conditions, including the fact that World War I was raging at the time.  Historians need to examine these specific conditions and not allow themselves to see the violence as inevitable or a necessary outcome of the relations between Muslims and Christians, or “Turks” and “Armenians” in the late Ottoman era.

Tugrul Keskin: How do we develop Turkish Studies in the United State? What is your view on this subject? 

Donald Quataert: For more than twenty years I have worked hard to promote an accurate view of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire and its peoples in the United States and among Americans.  Turkey is well served if the truth and nothing but the truth is told.  We should demand that of ourselves.  Turkey is a wonderful country and is not served by those who want to present just one side of a story.

Tugrul Keskin: Dr. Quataert, thank you for the interview.

Donald Quataert: Thank you.

Dr. Donald Quataert’s book review can be found in the following source:
The Massacres of Ottoman Armenians and the Writing of Ottoman History Journal of Interdisciplinary History, xxxvii:2(Autumn, 2006), 249–259.


[1] Is Turkey Muzzling U.S. Scholars? http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/07/01/turkey
[2] Turkish Ambassador Dismisses U.S. Scholar For Telling the Truth on Armenian Genocide http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harut-sassounian/turkish-ambassador-dismis_b_104996.html

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Academic Mailing List Virginia Tech University

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Tugrul Keskin
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Assistant Professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies
Portland State University
International Studies
East Hall 333
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Portland, OR 97201 - USA

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

CRITICAL AND ACTIVIST SCHOLARSHIP One-day Conference, Sponsored by Critical Sociology

Monday, August 18, 2014The San Francisco Marriot Marquis
http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/pageid/1785/m/600
9:00am
Foothill E
WELCOME – David Fasenfest, Editor, Critical Sociology
Honoring Rod Bush
This year we saw the passing of a colleague, friend, activist and revolutionary, Rod Bush. The conference is dedicated to his work and memory, and will include two panels reflecting on Rod’s contributions to and impact on the struggle for revolutionary change and social justice.
9:15am
Foothill E
A Tribute to Rod BushHéctor Delgado, Executive Officer of SSSP
9:30-10:45am
Foothill D
Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast
Organizers: Lori Latrice Martin, Louisiana State University and Hayward Derrick Horton, University at Albany SUNY
Stronger than the Storm? Racial Group Consciousness in Black Baton RougeMelinda Jackson and Lori Latrice Martin, Louisiana State University
Collective Efficacy and Black Baton Rouge: A Look Back at the Effects of Hurricane KatrinaDari Green and Timothy Berry, Louisiana State University
Education in New Orleans Ten Years After Katrina — An Unnatural Disaster: Understanding the Predatory Greed of Neo-liberalism and Racism in the 'Pre'Post-racial.Kenneth Fasching-Varner, Louisiana State University
Hurricane Katrina: An Analysis of the Experiences and Recovery Process of Black Women in MississippiOphera Davis, Norfolk State University
9:30-10:45am
Foothill E
Warrior for Justice Part I: The Integration of Ideas and Practice
Organizers: Bob Newby and Melanie Bush
Chair: David Fasenfest, Critical Sociology
Revolutionary as mentor and educatorDaniel Douglas, Graduate Center, CUNY
Rod Bush and 21st Century Internal Colonialism TheoryCharles “Cappy” Pinderhughes, Essex County College
Black Nationalism through the World System Lens: A Legacy of Rod BushJim Fenelon, California State University, San Bernardino
Reflections on Professor BushSt. John’s University Students
On Movement Scholarship and TeachingHoward Winant, UC Santa Barbara
Discussant: Melanie Bush, Adelphi University

11:00am-12:15pm
Foothill D
House of a New Rising Sun?  Community Struggles after Katrina
Moderator A. Kathryn Stout, Manhattan College
Community Resilience and Participatory Action Research in Louisiana Bayous and BeyondC. Holly Denning, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Did Katrina Take Away a City’s Voice?  The Loss of the Daily Times-Picayune: A Critical Discourse AnalysisRussell Stockard Jr., California Lutheran University
Spaces of Technocracy: The Spatial Politics of Participation in Post-Katrina New OrleansSiri Colom, UC Berkeley
Building a Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Vietnamese Organizations and Community Mobilization After Hurricane KatrinaVy Thuc Dao, Tulane University
11:00am-12:15pm
Foothill E
Warrior for Justice Part II: The Integration of Practice and Ideas
Organizers: Bob Newby and Melanie Bush
Chair and Discussant: Bob Newby, Central Michigan University
Development of Rod’s Ideas Over TimeBob Barber
Rod Bush and the quest for justiceRodney Coates, Miami University Ohio
Revolutionary theory and practiceWalda Katz-Fishman and Jerome Scott, Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty, US Social Forum Planning Committee
Imagining the Power of Race Specific (but ​ ​Non-racist), Egalitarian Spaces: An Invitation from Rod BushDeidre Royster, New York University
Current Perspectives: Tensions in the American DreamMelanie Bush, Adelphi University

12:15 – 1:30 pm  Lunch Break
1:45-3:00pm
Foothill D
Scholar Activism—In the Trenches
Organizer:  Luis Fernandez, Northern Arizona University, and Chair SSSP Committee on Social Action
Beyond the Neoliberal University: Temporary Autonomous Zones of Knowledge ProductionManolo Callahan, San Jose State University
Fighting Back: Resisting University RetrenchmentWendy Chapkis, University of Southern Maine
Engaging the Immigrant Struggle
Luis A. Fernandez, Northern Arizona University
Queering the Agricultural Fields: Reflections on Methodologies of the OtherwiseElisa Oceguera, University of California Davis
The Battle for the Social Factory: Community Safety across the Bay
Annie Paradise, California Institute of Integral Studies
Studying Ourselves: Social Movement Scholarship and ActivismLesley Wood, York University

1:45-3:00pm
Foothill E
A Conversation on Racism and Capitalism
Organizers: Johnny Williams, Trinity College and Tanya Golash-Boza, UC-Merced
A panel discussion that examines the history ‘race’ shares with the rise of capitalism, and asks what does racial justice look like?
Tanya Golash-Boza, University of California, Merced
Ruha Benjamin, Princeton University
Corey Dolgon, Stonehill College
Nick Parker, Bay Area Teacher
LaShawnDa L. Pittman, University of Washington
Zulema Valdez, University of California, Merced
Johnny E. Williams, Trinity College
3:15-4:30pm
Foothill D
Human Rights from Critical Perspectives
Organizer and Moderator: Tugrul Keskin, Portland State University
Constitutionalism after 9/11Ian Patel, King's College London

Human Rights and “Humanitarian” Military InterventionBenjamin Gregg, Yale University
Natural Law, Human Rights and Sociological TheoryMark Gould, Haverford College
Children in Crisis: The Future of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Afghanistan after the U.S. Withdrawal in 2014Sara Kamali, Executive Director, ForgetMeNot International
Human Rights Education and Critiques in the U.S. University ClassroomDanielle Aldawood, Arizona State University
3:15-4:30pm
Foothill E
Dialectics of Crisis, Movement and Strategy: Reconstructing Historical Agency
Organizers: R.A. Dello Buono, Manhattan College and David Fasenfest, Wayne State University
Dialectical Views on the Barriers to Systemic Change: From Lukács to ChamblissR.A. Dello Buono, Manhattan College
Beyond Marxology, Beyond Bolshevism: Returning to A Critique of Political EconomyJohn O’Connor, Central Connecticut State University
Breaking the Silence? The Mass Strike, Occupy Wall Street, and Demanding Jobs for AllJay Arena, College of Staten Island
Concepts and Context: Race, Racism and NeoliberalismMichelle D. Byng, Temple University
Performing “Mexican Labor”: Resist and Survive the Extralegal and Legal Structural Practices of the Drywall/Taper Trade of the Construction IndustryDiego Avalos, Arizona State University
4:45-6:00pm
Foothill D
Political Economy and Social Movements in the Middle East
Organizer: Tugrul Keskin, Portland State University
Moderator: Mark Gould, Haverford College
Secularization As Political Struggles: The Cases Of France, Mexico And Turkey Following State-Breakdown Doğa Kerestecioğlu, University of Pennsylvania
To Riot or Not to Riot: Exploring the Intersection of the State, Law, Human Rights and Migrant Worker Oppression in Singapore Saroja Dorairajoo and George Radics, National University of Singapore
Paradigm of the Ban in IranNiloofar Golkar, York University
4:45-6:00pm
Foothill E
Surviving Disaster Capitalism: Post-Katrina Case Studies
Moderator: R.A. Dello Buono, Manhattan College
Carceral Keynesianism in a post-Katrina Louisiana: New Forms of Policing Immigrants and Others in a post-Katrina LouisianaNicole Trujillo-Pagan, Wayne State University
Post-Katrina Higher Education: Still Separate, Still UnequalA. Kathryn Stout, Manhattan College
Specialist Survival among Alternative Certification Teaching Programs in New OrleansJennifer Nelson, Emory University
Lingering Legacies: Racialized and Class-ified Realities In the Wake of Hurricane KatrinaDuke W. Austin, California State University and Keyana Simone, University of Colorado at Boulder
6:15pm
Foothill E
CLOSING REMARKS - David Fasenfest, Editor, Critical Sociology

Friday, May 02, 2014

A Special Issue on the Gülen Movement: Sociology of Islam Journal (Edited by Joshua Hendrick) Volume 1, Issue 3-4, 2014 (Brill)


Sociology of Islam Journal
A Special Issue on the Gülen Movement
Volume 1, Issue 3-4, 2014
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/22131418/1/3-4

Perspectives on the Gülen Movement
Authors: Gary Wood ; Tugrul Keskin
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 127 –130

Approaching a Sociology of Fethullah Gülen
Author: Joshua D. Hendrick
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 131 –144

“Is Hizmet Liberal?” Mediations and Disciplines of Islam and Liberalism among Gülen Organizations in Istanbul
Author: Jeremy F. Walton
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 145 –164

The Netherlands and the Gülen movement
Author: Martin van Bruinessen
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 165 –187

The Sohbet: Talking Islam in Turkey
Author: Smita Tewari Jassal
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 188 –208

Said Nursi’s Notion of ‘Sacred Science’: Its Function and Application in Hizmet High School Education
Authors: Caroline Tee ; David Shankland
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 209 –232

Translocal Ethics: Hizmet Teachers and the Formation of Gülen-inspired Schools in Urban Tanzania
Author: Kristina Dohrn
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 233 –256

What is the Hizmet Movement? Contending Approaches to the Analysis of Religious Activists In World Politics
Author: Sabine Dreher
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 257 –275

Book Review: The Anthropology of Islam Reader, edited by Jens Kreinath
Author: Michael Vicente Perez
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 277 –280

Book Review: God’s Century, written by Monica D. Toft, Daniel Philpott, and Timothy S. Shah
Author: Turan Kayaoğlu
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 281 –283

Book Review: The Headscarf Controversy: Secularism and Freedom of Religion, edited by Hilal Elver
Author: Z. Fareen Parvez
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 284 –286

Book Review: Democracy, Islam, and Secularism in Turkey, edited by Ahmet T. Kuru and Alfred Stepan
Author: Mustafa Gökçek
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 287 –289

Book Review: Connected in Cairo: Growing Up Cosmopolitan in the Modern Middle East, written by Mark A. Peterson
Author: Kendra Salois
Source: Volume 1, Issue 3-4, pp 290 –292

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Black Bag Lunch: Nikitah Okembe-RA Imani - May 15, 2014

BLACK BAG LUNCH NELSON MANDELA 2014 LECTURE SERIES 

Transformation in Black, African and Africana Studies 



Thursday May 15, 2014
12-2 PM
URBAN CENTER ROOM 710



Tuesday, April 22, 2014

WORKSHOP: INTRODUCTION TO TURKISH-AMERICAN STUDIES - JUNE 6-7, 2014 ISTANBUL

Introduction to Turkish­-American Studies
Boğaziçi University Alumni Association Building

 June 6­-7, 2014

Workshop Program

Introduction to Turkish­American Studies Boğaziçi University Alumni Association Building June 6­7, 2014

organized by the Cultural Studies Association of Turkey

Thursday, 5 June

18:00—Drinks at the Bebek Hotel Bar

Friday, 6 June

9:00 to 17:00—Workshop registration

10:00—Opening Remarks

Cash bar

Oya Başak (Boğaziçi University)
Gönül Pultar (Cultural Studies Association of Turkey) Louis Mazzari (Boğaziçi University)

5­minute break

10:35 to 11: 35—Keynote Speech I

Chair: Belma Baskett (International Society for Theatre and Literature) Justin McCarthy (University of Louisville), “The Turk in America”

11:35 to 11:50—Coffee break

11:50 to 13:20—Session I

“Turkish­American Relations”

Chair: Emine O. İncirlioğlu (Maltepe University)

Pınar Dost­Niyego (Atlantic Council Istanbul Office), “History of Turkish­American Relations”
Işıl Acehan (İpek University), “Impact of Ottoman Immigration on Turkish­American Relations”
Louis Mazzari (Boğaziçi University), “A Palazzo on the Bosphorus: The American Embassy in Beyoğlu”

13:20 to 14:30—Lunch hour

14:30 to 16:30—Session II

“The Ottoman Legacy”

Chair: Gönül Bakay (Bahçeşehir University)

Erin Hyde Nolan (Boston University), “Eyes Wide Shut: Images of Istanbul in Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad”

Bahar Gürsel (Middle East Technical University), “Letters from Abroad to Kindred at Home: Catherine Maria Sedgwick’s Ideas about the Old World and the Ottoman Empire”

Cafer Sarıkaya (Boğaziçi University), “Ottoman Participation in the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition”

Emrah Şahin (University of Florida), “‘Terrible Turk Beaten’: Fighting the Turkish Athletes during the Progressive Era”

16:30 to 16:45—Coffee break

16:45 to 17:45—Session III “Turkish­American Associations” Chair: Selhan Endres (Kadir Has University)

Zeynep Kılıç (University of Alaska) “Organizational Interpretations of Belonging and Identity ­ Politics of Incorporation among Turkish American Associations in New York”

Alice Leri (University of South Carolina), “A Study of ATAA (Assembly of Turkish American Associations)”

18:00 to 20:00—Cultural Studies Association Reception at Kennedy Lodge (Boğaziçi University)

Saturday, 7 June

9:00 to 17:00—Workshop registration

9:00 to 11:00—Keynote Speeches II

Chair: Louis Mazzari (Boğaziçi University)

Sabri Sayarı (Bahçeşehir University), “Turkish Studies in the USA”

Kemal Sılay (Indiana University), “Deconstructing Kemalism, Celebrating ‘Diversity’: American Academia’s Contributions to Islamist Dystopia in Turkey”

11:00 to 11:15—Coffee break

11:15 to 12:15—Session IV “Turkish Studies in the USA”page2image14608  page2image14768  page2image14928  page2image15088  page2image15248

Chair: Clifford Endres (Kadir Has University)
Tuğrul Keskin, “Orientalism to Neo­Orientalism in Modern Turkish Studies”
Brian T. Edwards, “What's in a Hyphen?: Between Turkish American Studies and Turkish­American Studies”

12:15 to 13:30—Lunch hour

13:30 to 15:30—Session V

“Immigration, Identity Formation, Diaspora”

Chair: Dilek Doltaş (Boğaziçi University)

Fazia Meberbeche (Abu Bakr Belkaid University of Tlemcen­Algeria), “The Turkish Diaspora in the United States: Immigration and Identity Formation”

Müzeyyen Güler (Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts), “The Second Generation of Turks who Migrated to America”

İlke Şanlıer Yüksel (Doğuş University), “We’re Still Living the Journey”: Media in the Daily Lives of Immigrants from Turkey”

Tahire Erman (Bilkent University), “Turkish Tailors Establishing Themselves in American Society: Experiences of ‘Lower Class’ Immigrants”

15:30 to 15:45—Coffee break

15:45 to 17:45—Session VI

“Turkish­American Art and Artists”

Chair: Oya Başak (Boğaziçi University)

Belma Baskett (International Society for Theatre and Literature), “A Brief Look at the Literature about the Turkish Immigration to the United States of America and the Hitherto Unrecorded Story of Osman and Timur”

Elena Furlanetto (Dortmund Technical University), “An Implausible Juncture? Locating Turkish Literature in an American Frame”

Elif Huntürk (Bilkent University), “Building up a New Identity through Music: The Case of Ahmet Ertegün”

H. Alper Maral (Yıldız University), “Bülent Arel and İlhan Mimaroğlu: Two Turkish Pioneers of Electronic Music Tuning the United States to the New World of Sounds”

17:45 to 18:00—Closing remarks / Wrap­up session

Chair: Gönül Pultar

19:30—Dinner at the Baltalimanı İstanbul University Faculty Restaurant

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Call for Papers Special Issue of CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST


Call for Papers
Special Issue of CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY:

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Beginning in 1969, Critical Sociology has examined social structures, social change, and social problems through the lenses of the critical imagination. Critical Sociology publishes scholarly work on transnational and global sociology, and as a result of its initiatives, Latin American, and African Sociology is now represented in the journal. Recently, the journal has appointed a Middle East and North Africa Editor to attract work from scholars in the region, and to coordinate a special issue, Sociological Imagination in the Middle East.

As a social science, sociology has European origins; as a result, scholarship on the Middle East has long been either ignored or enamored with a European worldview. Conversely, social analysts and critics from the Middle East have often rejected certain aspects of European sociology due to its role in promoting “modernization,” colonialism,” or secularism. The emergence of sociology in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria in the mid-twentieth century, however, produced research that warrant broader engagement and dialogue. Although some scholars found an audience in academic circles outside their countries, for example, Ali Shariati (Iran) and Niyazi Berkes (Turkey), much of this foundational scholarship unfortunately remains overlooked. Late nineteenth/early twentieth century critical scholarship from Prince Sabahaddin (Turkey), Ziya Gokalp (Turkey), Cemil Meric (Turkey), Amir-Hossein Aryanpour (Iran), Hassan Hanafi (Egypt), Ehsan Naraghi (Iran), and others is unknown outside the author’s respective country of origin.

As it stands, four perspectives tend to dominate the sociology of the Middle East: secular liberalism, whose authors tend to reproduce moderate variations of modernization theory; state-centered conservatism, whose authors do the same but in the interests and/or service of conserving state legitimacy; left-critical, whose authors tend to reproduce variations of Marxist, world systems, or dependency theory; and Islamic-oriented conservative nationalism. Since the end of the Cold War, Islamic-oriented, conservative nationalist scholarship has increased, and left-critical scholarship has shifted toward a more liberal, market orientation. This shift is directly linked with the current social, political and economic transformations in the region, and warrants closer scrutiny. Also, revolution, technological advancement, and globalized education in the region have opened new spaces and new opportunities for Middle East and North African Sociology.

For this special issue of Critical Sociology, we invite scholarship by researchers and analysts who incorporate diverse intellectual perspectives that include, rather than marginalize, intellectual engagement with scholarship from the North Africa and the Middle East. We welcome submissions by sociologists working on, but not limited to, the following subjects:
               
·      Middle East and North African Sociology as a field of inquiry   
·      Commodification of Middle East and North African Studies in Europe and the USA
·      Neoliberal transformations and structural adjustment in the Middle East and North Africa
·      Urban – rural demographic change and urbanization    
·      Durability, success, and failure of leftist/Marxist movements
·      Ethnic/religious movement, tension, or conciliation 
·      Workers, unions, labor Rights
·      Capital accumulation
·      Western Feminism versus Third World Feminism  
·      Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual identities and movements
·      Human rights  - challenges in discourse and practice

The deadline for submitting abstracts is May 30, 2014. Abstracts should be approximately 300 words and include the author’s name and contact information. Please send all abstract or other queries to Tugrul Keskin, Middle East and North Africa Editor, at: (tugrulkeskin (at) pdx.edu).

For more information on CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY, including instructions for authors, see: http://crs.sagepub.com

Authors will be notified by July 15, 2014 if their abstracts are selected, with a full draft of the article due by December 31, 2014.  All manuscripts are subject to the standard peer-review process at Critical Sociology. Prospective authors should feel free to communicate with the Middle East and North Africa Editor about the appropriateness of their proposed papers.

Special Issue Editors:
Joshua Hendrick, Loyola University of Maryland jdhendrick (at) loyola.edu 
Tugrul Keskin, Portland State University tugrulkeskin (at) pdx.edu 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Critical-Sociology/109234272497897

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Post-Islamism in Turkey Panels at the Fourth World Congress for Middle East Studies” (WOCMES), METU, Ankara, Turkey August 18-22, 2014

Fourth World Congress for Middle East Studies” (WOCMES), METU, Ankara, Turkey August 18-22, 2014.
http://www.wocmes2014.org/?p=general_information

ORGANIZED BY ISABEL DAVID AND TUGRUL KESKIN

PANEL-1
POST-ISLAMISM IN TURKEY: A THEORETICAL APPROACH
Co-sponsored by Sociology of Islam Journal 
Moderator Tugrul Keskin 
1.Intellectual debate on Post-Islamism - Associate Professor Michelangelo Guida - Istanbul 29 Mayis University
2.“Respeaking the Ottoman Words, Reliving the Ottoman World: The Cultural Significance of Turkey’s Imperial Past and Its Political Significance for Turkish Islamism(s)” Professor Kemal Silay – Indiana University, Bloomington
3.Vakif as Intent and Practice: Charity and Poor Relief in Contemporary Turkey  - Assistant Professor Damla Isik - Regis University
4.Muslimism and Sites of Hybridity: Re-theorizing Contemporary Islam in Turkey - PhD. Neslihan Cevik – University of Virginia

PANEL-2
GULEN MOVEMENT AND POST-ISLAMISM
Co-sponsored by Center for Turkish Studies at Portland State University, Turkish and Ottoman Studies at Indiana University and Turkish Review
Moderator Kemal Silay 
1.Post-Islamism or Veering Toward Political Modernity? Ideology and Islam in the Gülen Movement - Post-Doctoral Research Fellow  - Fabio Vicini - 29 Mayıs University 
2.Becoming Muhacir, becoming Şakirde: A Case of Female University Students from Central Asia in the Gülen Movement in Turkey - MA Candidate - Marhabo Saparova - Sabanci University
3.Post-Islamist practices between Turkey and Tanzania: A perspective on teachers and businessmen inspired by Fethullah Gülen - Kristina Dohrn - Freie Universität
4. Emergent Actors, Emerging Narratives: Competing Representations of Islam and Turkey in North America - Oguz Alyanak PhD Student - Washington University in St. Louis Washington University St. Louis  

PANEL-3
JDP, POST-ISLAMISM AND NEOLIBERALISM
Co-sponsored by Critical Sociology
Moderator Isabel David   
1.AKP’s Shifts between Islamism and post-Islamism: What can the “December 17 Process” Tell Us? - Assistant Professor Beken Saatcioglu - MEF University
2.Beyond Takkiye vs. Liberalism?: Turkey’s “Post-Islamist” Foreign Policy - Assistant Professor  Nora Fisher Onar - Bahcesehir University
3.A Customized Neo-Liberalism with a Moral Call: An Assessment of the Growing JDP Connections in Turkish Businesses  - Reader, Gül Berna ÖZCAN University of London and Umut Gunduz Istanbul Technical University
4.Distilling the Problems of Post-Islamism through the case of Turkey’s AKP (or AKP through a glass darkly) PhD Bilge Azgin - University of Manchester

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Call for papers: Human Rights and Social and Politcial Economy in the Middle East

Call for Papers:
HUMAN RIGHTS FROM CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES
POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Panel sponsored by Critical Sociology
The official journal of the Association of Critical Sociology

Dear all,

As you all know, the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (August 16-19, 2014 http://www.asanet.org/am2014/am2014.cfm) and the Society for Study of Social Problems (August 15-17, 2014 / http://www.sssp1.org/) will hold their yearly meetings in San Francisco, CA. 

Critical Sociology is sponsoring another conference in conjunction with ASA and SSSP on August 18, 2014. We would like to invite you to participate in this conference. Please let us know if you would like to present a paper. Your disciplinary methodology is not important, as long as you consider yourself to be a critical scholar and have a sociological imagination. We welcome International and Global Studies scholars, political sociologists and economists, cultural theorists, LGBT scholars, Post-Colonial Studies researchers, and Black Studies scholars. We would like to organize two panels on
·      HUMAN RIGHTS FROM CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES (Gerald Sussman, Portland State University, sussmag(at)pdx.edu)
·      POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST (Mark Gould, Haverford College, mgould(at)haverford.edu)

If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please do not hesitate to contact me at tugrulkeskin@pdx.edu

Please email a paper abstract of 400-500 words to Tugrul Keskin at tugrulkeskin(at)pdx.edu by April 30, 2014.

The Conference will take place on Monday, August 18, 2014, in San Francisco, California, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis

PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER SUBMITTING YOUR ARTICLE TO CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY: http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal201869/manuscriptSubmission

If you would like learn more about Critical Sociology, please visit our websites or contact the editor of Critical Sociology, David Fasenfest at critical.sociology@gmail.com

http://crs.sagepub.com/
http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal201869 
http://www.criticalsociology.org/
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