MSSU Spiva Art Gallery
Admission: Free
This exhibition features a socio-cultural, research photo-journal of architecture, sculpture, paintings, murals, and various cultural highlights of art faculty travels to Turkey. The aim of the show is to introduce the culture of both Istanbul, and Islamic art and architecture, to the MSSU campus and community at large. These photographs have acted as an impetus for the creation of faculty and student artwork from various mediums and processes that will hang alongside these framed and matted digital photographs from a trip to Istanbul. Along with these original works and photographs the exhibition will also feature textiles, ceramics, and book arts brought back from Turkey.
Magic Carpet Photo Booth
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Lion’s Den
Admission: Free
Turkey offers travelers some of the most breathtaking photo opportunities in the world. From the Sultan Ahmet Camil (Blue Mosque) in Istanbul to the pine-clad mountains of Marmaris, there are beautiful sights around every corner. What better way to see them all than to travel by magic carpet! Swing by after class and get a picture taken of you flying by the most awe-inspiring locations on a magic carpet courtesy of the Campus Activities Board! (while supplies last)
Istanbul Unveiled
9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
It is a city of mystery, a city of wonders, and a city whose history is unlike any other. It is Istanbul. Once known as Byzantium, then renamed Constantinople, Istanbul is one of history’s most significant cities, having served as the capital of four empires. It played an important role in the advancement of Christianity − until the Ottomans took over and transformed it into an Islamic entity under caliphate rule.
“Istanbul Unveiled” is a 61-minute travel documentary based on Serif Yenen’s 25 years of experience as a tourist guide and travel writer. Through the eyes of a young American woman visiting İstanbul, the video highlights iconic places as well as some unique sites off the beaten path, all framed though interviews with a cross-section of residents that range from a noted belly dancer to a masseur at a bath to one of the nation’s richest women. The film premiered at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in December 2013.
Talking Turkey and Her Neighbors
11:00 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
We can’t really start out this semester cold turkey without first asking exactly, “Just who are these Turks?” “Where did they come from?” “To whom are they related?” “And how did they become the leading Turkic-speaking people of the world?” In short, what makes the Turks tick?
While this presentation will definitely talk Turkey, it will also explore Turkey’s leading role with many of her related Eurasian neighbors and cousins. The presentation expands far beyond the borders of today’s Turkey and examines the genetic, linguistic, and historical/cultural links that unite all the Turkic-speaking peoples of the world. These shared roots express a fascinating common, cultural identity that spans thousands of years − and miles − from Mediterranean Europe to the far eastern tundras of Siberia.
The blessed Turkish people of Turkey are by far the most important linchpin in this vast array of Turkic nations. In the early 20th century, the vision of a pan-Turkic union of nations (all related by the Turkic tongue) was just a dream of certain activists/nationalists. But, in fact, during the past two decades, a special bond across the entire Central Eurasian steppes has blossomed far beyond the wildest vision of those earlier, rainbow-arc dreamers. Modern day Turkey, whose Turkish people comprise by far the largest plurality of Turkic-related speakers in the world, has evolved to also be the most powerful locomotive economy and cultural force among them all − even their sophisticated TV soap operas have a massive following across many borders!
Uniquely endowed by its geographical intersection of continents, its political leadership from Ottoman history, and its early embrace of modernity, Turkey stands alone as the most advanced of all its brotherly neighbors. For the most part, it is a respected and benign leadership. For example, did you know there is a Turkish-donated library in Kyzyl in the Republic of Tannu Tuva? A Turkish mosque in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan replicated after a famous one in Istanbul? A Turkey-sponsored university in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan?
With the exception of the Republic of Sakha, our speaker, Gary Wintz, has traveled repeatedly across all the Turkic world and will share his unique perspective on Turkey and her relationships with all her Eurasian linguistic cousins. This will be a fascinating contemporary narrative about Eurasia’s Big Brother Turkey and its Turkic family’s mostly admiring siblings.
Gary Wintz has traveled to more than 220 countries in the last 40 years, researching, writing, photographing, and lecturing about distant lands and cultures. He has worked on NGO projects in Indochina, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, and has contributed his expertise to development projects in Ethiopia for UNICEF. In 1981-82, he taught at universities in China and Tibet and lectured for the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1989 and 1990. Wintz has also lectured on cruise ships and private jet tours and for the National Geographic Society at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. He has lectured also in the presence of the Dalai Lama. Wintz is a longtime member of the Mongolia Society, the Association for Asian Studies, the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, and the Central Eurasian Studies Society. As a tour leader, he has been a longtime leader of citizen diplomacy exchanges, including pioneering “Peace Trains” on the trans-Siberian.
Besides Turkey, in 1978, Wintz first started visiting other Turkish regions such as Northern (Turkish) Cyprus as well as Turkic regions such as Uzbekistan. Over the successive decades he has traveled to every Turkic-speaking region in the world except Yakutia (Sakha). From Bosnia to Kyrgyzstan, from Tartars in Crimea to Uyghurs in Eastern Turkestan, (Xinjiang), from Turkmen villages in Afghanistan to Iraq to Azerbaijani regions of Iran, he has been there multiple times. He has guest lectured at many universities on Central Asia, Inner Asia, and on Turkic themes, such as Tannu Tuva, at Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and Indiana, etc.
(Gary Wintz photo by Grace Fritzinger)
Tourism in Turkey: Intercontinental Beauty
10:00 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Turkey is always in the top 10 as one of the world’s most popular travel destinations. Strategically located on the old hitchhikers’ trail to India, for decades now Turkey has been an attraction not only to middle class Western European families and students driving campers but also to Japanese Silk Road buffs, Australian travelers tracing World War histories, New Zealand yachtsmen, American beachcombers and Bible historians, and recently even Chinese mainlanders learning about this new world to explore − and able to afford it.
Turkey has it all: from Mediterranean islands that mirror the Greek Isles, Black Sea beaches and majestic cliff faces, to snow-capped mountains and remote lakes. At the crucible of history for millennia, Turkey also hosts some of the most famous spiritual power places for many religions, from the caves of Cappadocia to the final home of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus. Saul of Tarsus, aka Paul the Apostle, as well as revered Islamic Sufi masters and whirling dervishes, have all contributed to the mystique and aura of a sacred land blessed by its beauty and geography. Along with the crossroads of history came the crossroads of empires with all the riches and wealth in today’s museums that accompany the historical center of Constantinople/Istanbul with all the splendors of the Ottoman Empire.
This talk by tour leader Gary Wintz is a lovely introduction to this magical, mysterious land of delight and will detail and survey this nation’s grand history of place, geographical, natural and spiritual wonders − not the least of which is its famously warm spirit of hospitality!
An Armenian Geographer in Turkey: What am I Doing Here?
9:00 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
From Armenians to Zazaki-speaking Kurds, Turkey is still the multicultural homeland for many different peoples who have existed and thrived in dynamic and overlapping proximity for centuries. Despite ideologies and horrific events of the 20th century that attempted to remove cultures and their stories from the landscape, connections between peoples and places remain strong and retain the potential for building relationships of meaning and hope. Dr. Paul Kaldjian examines why he, as an Armenian American scholar, has made Turkey his place of research, teaching, and learning.
Dr. Paul Kaldjian is associate professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (UWEC), where he has been since 2002; he is currently the chair of the Department of Geography and Anthropology. He received his Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of Arizona in Tucson. His dissertation – Urban Food Security and Contemporary Istanbul: Gardens, Bazaars and the Countryside – was based on a year of fieldwork in Turkey.
Since then, Professor Kaldjian’s research and teaching interests have focused on the geography of food, food systems and food security in Wisconsin, Turkey and Finland, and a wide range of student-faculty research projects in which he is regularly involved. He is currently chair of the West Lakes Regional Association of American Geographers.
Kaldjian travels regularly to Turkey and often presents on the relationships he has built with its people and places. He has recently turned those relationships into a learning abroad program for UWEC students – he took students to Turkey in 2011, 2012, 2013, and plans to do so again in 2015. In 2011, he received the Building Bridges Award in the Education category from the Islamic Resource Group in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He recently finished four years as the secretary and treasurer of the Turkish Studies Association and now chairs the UW-Eau Claire’s university-wide Council on Internationalization and Global Engagement.
Urban Food Systems and the Changing Place of Istanbul's Neighborhood Markets
11:00 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
For centuries and for millions of people, Istanbul’s hundreds of weekly, neighborhood markets (Semt Pazari) have been satisfying the city’s basic food and household needs. This local food distribution system − its locations, operation and adaptation to shifting social and political environments − is a bottom-up expression of food provision that meets people where they are. As such, the human relationships on which this institution is built challenge our contemporary assumptions of “efficiency.”
Anatolian Aphorisms and Honorifics: Navigating Relationships through Language
1:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Why do we study other people and places? Here’s one reason why: to help us understand our relationships with each other. The words and gestures we direct to others speak to the relationships in which we exist and toward which we aspire. How the people of Anatolia address strangers and family, and the cultural insights found in daily sayings and proverbs, can help us in our multifaceted and quotidian relationships.
Tango in Turkey: Investigating the Intrigue of Istanbul
11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Come join Christine Bentley and Eric Rasheed for a discussion and photo slide presentation on their recent trip to Istanbul. They will explore the culture, art, and architecture of Istanbul and discuss their travels, emphasizing cultural differences and similarities, and the art/architecture of Istanbul. They will briefly discuss the vilification of the Muslim in American culture and how this affected their own response to experiencing Turkey and the response from those here in the United States regarding their travels to the Middle East.
Christine Bentley is department chair of art and an associate professor of art at Missouri Southern State University. She has a master of arts degree in art history from the University of Notre Dame and is an (ABD) doctoral candidate in art history at Indiana University-Bloomington. Her primary area of specialization is 19th and 20th century European art, focusing on German modernism. She also has two minor areas of specializations in Islamic and Renaissance art. She has been awarded numerous grants to conduct research abroad and has presented papers at a number of regional and national conferences. She participated in an NEH-funded summer research institute at the University of Chicago titled, “Culture and Communication in the Pre-Modern Islamic World.” Her approach to teaching art history is based on her belief that art exists as part of a larger cultural, social and political environment which often shapes the responses that people have to artwork and its use within these environments.
Eric Rasheed is a government property administrator for the U.S. Department of State – Middle East. He has a degree in history from Southern Illinois University with an emphasis on 20th century European and American history, along with a minor area of concentration in psychology. He has additional interests in the culture and history of the Middle East and Islam, from the time of the prophet Muhammad to the present day.
Turkish Tasting Station
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014
Lion’s Den
Admission: Free
What better way to celebrate the Turkish culture than a tasting station. The Campus Activities Board is excited to bring the campus community the opportunity to taste three of the most well-known Turkish exports when it comes to the taste buds.
Legend has it that 230 years ago there was a Turkish Sultan who believed the path to a woman’s heart was through her stomach. In order to please his numerous mistresses he ordered his chefs to prepare a novel dessert. Thus, the Turkish Delight was born. Swing by and grab a taste of one of the most coveted royal delicacies in the world.
Istanbul Breeze Performs the Music of Turkey
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
A delightful performance featuring the traditional and classical music of Turkey by the band Istanbul Breeze. Founded by Ozan Cemali in 2011 with Dena El Saffar and Tim Moore in order to share the culture and music of his native Turkey, Istanbul Breeze has performed at Turkish Embassy events, numerous universities, and at local community venues.Tomás Lozanobegan his participation with Istanbul Breeze this year, adding a Mediterranean influence to the music.
Istanbul Breeze also will perform some Turkish folk music with rock rhythms. Some of the songs are popular today with younger generations and have been included in recent movie soundtracks such as the song “Misirlou” from the movie Pulp Fiction.
Ozan Cemali was born in 1970 in Ankara, Turkey. He has been playing the baglama (a Turkish folk instrument) since the age of 10. Nurtured by the love of music that comes from the roots of his family, Cemali has been singing, performing and improvising in varied culture settings from traditional coffee houses (a significant component of becoming a troubadour in Turkey) to contemporary musical venues. At the age of 17 he widened his musical repertoire to include the oud. In addition to his skills in interpreting the corpus of traditional songs, he also has a growing songbook of his own compositions.
Dena El Saffaris a composer and multi-instrumentalist of Iraqi and American heritage. She began learning the violin at the age of 6. While working on her degree in viola performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, she founded the group Salaam, a Middle Eastern music ensemble that has performed throughout the United States.
Tim Moore grew up in the Midwest and began playing drums at the age of 11. A natural percussionist, he began performing with different groups early on, gaining experience in a variety of genres including jazz, blues, salsa and rock. In his quest to become a better, more diverse musician, he began learning rhythms and instruments from around the world, eventually bringing his focus to Middle Eastern percussion. Moore plays the dumbek, riqq, naqqarat, bendir, tabl and zanbur, as well as drum set, bass and guitar.
Tomás Lozano is a vocalist, instrumentalist, composer, scholar and writer born in Barcelona, Spain. He stands out as an iconic performer of Spain’s traditional ballads sung in Castilian, Catalan and Galician. Lozano also takes poetry from famed Spanish authors and converts them into song, which he performs with the accompaniment of his guitar and other instruments. His wide-ranging musical repertoire includes his own melodies for the hurdy gurdy and folk dances from Spain, France, Britain and more. He also sings traditional Sephardic songs in Ladino.
History and Traditions of Turkish Music
10:00 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Members of the band Istanbul Breeze will discuss the history and traditions of the instruments used in their performances and offer demonstrations. Ozan Cemalialso will discuss Turkish folk music and the traditions of music among “troubadours” in Turkey.
Istanbul Breeze Performs the Music of Turkey
12:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
A farewell performance featuring the traditional and classical music of Turkey by the band Istanbul Breeze.
The Mosque Next Door: A Traditional Religious Icon in a Modern, Secular Culture
1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Contemporary Turkey refers to itself as a “Secular Islamic Society.” This is a deliberate social outcome politically engineered after World War I with the sweeping changes led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, “the founder of modern Turkey.” These reforms separated religion (Islam) from direct government policy, law, and social control. Yet a constant reminder of the deep influence of their fundamental Islamic past is seen in the plethora of mosques (places of prayer) that dot the cityscapes of urban centers and the landscapes of smaller towns and rural villages.
What purposes do mosques serve in a fundamental Islamic setting? How have these changed in contemporary Turkey? In what ways do Turkish mosques differ from mosques in the Arab world regarding uses and architectural appearances? How can mosques be compared with churches in the Christian world? In the present construction boom in 21st century Turkey, why are there so few new mosques being built?
In this pictorial/lecture presentation, an examination of how contemporary Turkey represents the modernization of an Islamic state through European, American, and current globalization influences will be discussed. The focus will be on the Islamic religion and its places of prayer (mosques) and how their alterations are played out in a society which has fundamentally broken away from its historic past.
Dr. Conrad Gubera is a professor of sociology and international studies at Missouri Southern State University. He was named the university’s Outstanding International Education Teacher in 2006 and the Outstanding Teacher in 1996. He teaches courses in sociology and anthropology, secondary social science education, and international studies. Dr. Gubera has been a faculty leader of 10 different student study abroad groups at MSSU, most recently teaching “The Sociology of Death and Dying” in London. Prior to that, he led groups to the lower Yucatan area of Mexico for a study of ancient Mayan sites.
During the past 25 years Dr. Gubera has engaged in extensive travel, visiting 34 countries. Most of his international travel has been the complement of being a fellow with the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii and the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, three separate Fulbright Awards, a Japan Foundation Award, and faculty grants through MSSU’s Institute of International Studies. He spent 11 days in Turkey in May 2014 through the Niagara Foundation.
The Flavors of Turkey
11:00 a.m. Monday, Sept. 29, 2014
12:00 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 (repeat)
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Deborah and Albert Sherrer of Main Street Mediterranean Cuisine in Bolivar, Missouri, will discuss the origins and history of Turkish food, which is “as close to biblical food as you can get.” (She lived in Turkey for five years; he was born and raised there.) They and their staff will prepare five different types of kebabs – chicken, doner, Alexander, Adana, inegöl – from the different regions of Turkey plus kabuli, hummus, and handmade bread. Come hungry, as there will be plenty of food to sample!
Early Folk Literature
10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014
Phelps Theater in Beimdiek Recreation Center
Admission: Free
Folk literature, the oldest genre associated with the Turkic people, is thought to have first appeared about a dozen centuries ago. Steeped in the oral tradition, folk literature provides a fascinating glimpse into the distant past of Anatolia, an area to which early Turkic peoples migrated and settled. Much of the literature was crafted during the Middle Ages, in some cases even before the Ottoman Empire came into being as the 13th century moved to a close. Folk literature was created in various genres, which sometimes overlap, such as epics, short fables, humorous tales, and poetry in both secular and religious forms. This session will provide readings, given by faculty from Missouri Southern’s English department, representing a range of early folk literature in both poetry and prose.
Turkey in a Nutshell: From Ancient Times to Today
9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
This talk will provide an overview of the entire history of Ancient Anatolia and Modern Turkey from the dawn of civilization in Gobeklitepe and Catalhoyuk in southeast and inner Anatolia to the Republican period of Turkish history. Examining the intricate layers of the Anatolian peninsula formed by a variety of civilizations and cultures, from the ancient Hittites to the Greek city states in Ionia to Romans and the Byzantines as well as the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, this session will explore the historical sources of the modern Turkish identity. The emphasis of the talk will be on the major political and cultural developments in the last 700 years of Turkey’s history.
Dr. Serdar Poyraz teaches courses on modern Middle Eastern history, world history, and the history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey as a visiting assistant professor at Missouri State University. His research interests include the intellectual and social history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey as well as Turkish-Middle Eastern relations. He also has taught at Ohio State University, Wake Forest University, and the University of Montana.
Poyraz received his B.A., magna cum laude, in international relations from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey (2000), his M.A. in political science from Ohio State University (2003), and his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern history from Ohio State University (2010). His research languages are modern Turkish, the Ottoman language, and Persian.
From Fez to Hat: How did Turkey Modernize?
11:00 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
This presentation by Dr. Serdar Poyraz will explore the traumatic transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Modern Turkish Republic. Founded on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Turkish Republic is generally perceived to represent a radical break with the earlier Ottoman tradition. The first part of this session will question such common perceptions by emphasizing the continuities between the 19th and 20th century, and will try to explain the Ottoman roots of the Turkish modernization. The second part will present a historical narrative of the major economic and political developments which took place in the Turkish Republic in the last 90 years.
Classical Ottoman Literature
11:00 a.m. Monday, Oct. 20, 2014
Phelps Theater in Beimdiek Recreation Center
Admission: Free
Appearing in the early 14th century and extending about 500 years, classical Ottoman literature has been an especially valued body of work. Although many learned individuals wrote prose about travel, history, religion, and other important topics, prose fiction did not hold a significant place in Turkish culture during the period. Instead, poetry was venerated and dominated literary production. Ottoman poetry tended to follow various conventions, thus offering similar images, forms, and themes, for example. During the multiple centuries of Ottoman rule, many poets were especially noteworthy, and this session will feature a handful of representative work. Readings will be presented by faculty from Missouri Southern’s English department.
Destined to be Detained – Devshirme: Slave Children of the Ottoman Sultan
9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Through a slide-lecture on a series of manuscripts and paintings, join Christine Bentley for an intriguing discussion of the Devshirme, a system of human taxation under the direction of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th until the 19th centuries. Young Christian boys were taken away from their families in the Balkans and made into the property of the sultan in order to become part of the army or the administration. The discussion will focus on their role within the empire, their academic and military trainings, along with their lifestyle within the extensive “residential complex” of the Sultan.
Christine Bentley is department chair of art and an associate professor of art at Missouri Southern State University. She has a master of arts degree in art history from the University of Notre Dame and is an (ABD) doctoral candidate in art history at Indiana University-Bloomington. Her primary area of specialization is 19th and 20th century European art, focusing on German modernism. She also has two minor areas of specializations in Islamic and Renaissance art. She has been awarded numerous grants to conduct research abroad and has presented papers at a number of regional and national conferences. She participated in an NEH-funded summer research institute at the University of Chicago titled, “Culture and Communication in the Pre-Modern Islamic World.” Her approach to teaching art history is based on her belief that art exists as part of a larger cultural, social and political environment which often shapes the responses that people have to artwork and its use within these environments.
The Tale of Two Turkeys
10:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 24, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” These are the opening words of Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities. The phrase can easily be applied to Beth Hammons and David James’ month-long travels throughout Turkey in the summer of 2014. The two students studied the politics and identity of Turkey, discovering what makes the republic work − or from some perspectives − not work. As they traversed the varieties of landscapes that can be found throughout the Anatolian Plateau and surrounding areas, they learned firsthand that this country was not as united as it seems from afar. In many ways, as Dickens said, it was the best of times and the worst of times. Hammons and James hope to provide a critical view of Turkey from two tales, describing the ways in which the nation is divided and unified. Their experiences took them to Istanbul, Gallipoli, Ankara, Cappadocia, Ezerum, and Van, allowing them to glean knowledge from many differing ethnicities, political views, and people.
Beth Hammons, a senior Spanish education major at Missouri Southern State University, received a McCaleb Initiative for Peace grant to participate in the Missouri State University program, “The History and Politics of Identity in Turkey.” This was her second study abroad experience; she spent the spring of 2013 at the University of Murcia in Spain. Hammons hopes to go on to graduate school after MSSU and obtain a master’s degree in applied linguistics and then pursue a career with the U.S. Department of State. When she is not traveling or studying, she enjoys playing soccer for the MSSU women’s team and planning her next adventure.
David James, a 2013 graduate of Missouri Southern State University with a bachelor of arts in history, is working toward a master’s degree in global studies at Missouri State University. He participated in MSU’s “History and Politics of Identity in Turkey” study abroad trip in May and June 2014. James spent the summer of 2010 at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He hopes to pursue a career that interacts with international non-profit organizations and the United Nations, focusing in human rights.
Conflict, Democratization and the Kurdish Issue in Turkey
9:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
With a population of some 30-40 million in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, the Kurds are the world’s largest stateless nation. Since the 1923 founding of the Turkish Republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, dozens of Kurdish revolts erupted in Turkey. The latest and longest lasting began in 1984 and cost some 40,000 lives. Since March 2013, however, a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has largely held up, and the possibility of a peace deal that also resolves long-standing grievances of Kurds in Turkey looms tantalizingly close. This session will explore the history of the “Kurdish issue” in Turkey and neighboring countries.
Dr. David Romano holds the Thomas G. Strong Chair in Middle East Politics at Missouri State University. His work has appeared in journals such as International Affairs, The Oxford Journal of Refugee Studies, Third World Quarterly, International Studies Perspectives, the Middle East Journal and Ethnopolitics. He is also the author of The Kurdish Nationalist Movement(Cambridge University Press, 2006 − also translated into Turkish and Persian). He is the editor, along with Mehmet Gurses, of a forthcoming book, Conflict, Democratization and the Kurdish Issue in the Middle East (Palgrave Mamillan). Dr. Romano additionally writes a weekly political column for Rudaw, an Iraqi Kurdish newspaper.
Wire-taps, Scandals, Protests and Turkey’s Run-Away Democracy Train
11:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Turkey joined NATO in 1952 and first began trying to join the European Union in the 1960s. For decades, Turkey was hailed as the Middle East’s only Muslim democracy and a staunch Western ally. When the Arab Spring erupted, Turkey was put forward by the Obama administration as a model that Arab states could aspire to − Muslim, democratic and thriving as the world’s 16th largest economy. During the past year, however, a number of corruption scandals and accusations of increasing authoritarianism cast a disturbing light on Turkey. Is one of America’s staunchest allies drifting away?
On the Eve of the 100-Year Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide − What Have We Learned?
1:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
2015 will mark 100 years since the killing of some 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians in what is now Turkey. When planning his murderous campaigns in Europe, Hitler is said to have asked “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” This session will explore several questions: Why was the Armenian minority targeted by the Ottoman authorities, what did all this have in common with other genocides and mass killings, and what does acknowledging a genocide mean?
The Silk Road Ends Here
9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014
Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall
Admission: Free
Istanbul, Turkey has been the terminus of the famous Silk Road for thousands of years. Beginning in Western China, routes moved across Central Asia and India, bringing silk, spices and other luxury goods that found their way into the Roman Empire and the European Middle Ages. We’ll explore the routes, the dangers on the way, and the amazing goods that flowed into Turkey and influenced much of its visual arts.
Carla Tilghman has degrees in art history and studio arts. Having learned to weave when she was 12, she has had an abiding interest in textiles. After traveling to Turkey while in college, she developed a particular love of all things Turkish, particularly the textiles and carpets. Over the course of several subsequent trips, she learned traditional weaving and felting techniques. Tilghman currently teaches at Washburn University and at the University of Kansas.
To Knot or Not to Knot
11:00 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014
Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall
Admission: Free
Turkish carpets are distinctive in both their patterns and the techniques used to make them. We’ll explore different regional motifs and methods with lots of visuals and a bit of hands-on.
Turkish Delights
7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, 2014
Taylor Performing Arts Center
Admission: Free
The Southern Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Jeffrey Macomber, dedicates half of its Fall concert to Turkish-inspired music. Beethoven’s Turkish March from “The Ruins of Athens” and Mozart’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in G major, K. 219 “Turkish” will be performed by the orchestra and guest soloist Erik Peterson.
Peterson has been a member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since 1991 and is concertmaster of the chamber orchestra Up Close and Personal. As an active performing chamber musician, he is often heard in performances with the Ivy Street Ensemble and Mendelssohn Trio. In addition to his work as a violinist, Peterson is artistic director of the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival in Corvallis, Oregon, and the Front Range Chamber Players, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has taught violin, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire at Colorado State University, Rocky Bridge Music Center, Denver School of the Arts, and Denver Young Artists Orchestra.
Modern Literature
9:00 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14, 2014
Phelps Theater in Beimdiek Recreation Center
Admission: Free
With the end of the Ottoman Empire and creation of the Republic of Turkey in the early 20th century, Turkish literature moved into new avenues of creativity. Ottoman forms considered stale were set aside in favor of the language and themes related to ordinary individuals. Folklore enjoyed renewed popularity, and new genres flourished as short stories and novels began making an impact. Various literary movements affecting both poetry and prose emerged during the 20th century, with some writers influenced by Western texts and others promoting a national identity. This session will feature readings from the modern era, which will be presented by faculty from Missouri Southern’s English department.
Torquoise Blue
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
As part of its “Swingin’ Holiday Show,” the Southern Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Dr.Phillip C. Wise, performs the world premiere of a new musical work composed by Scott D. Stanton and commissioned for the ensemble by the MSSU Institute of International Studies.
Torquoise Blue is an original composition based on the challenging rhythmic and melodic themes of Turkish folk music. The work includes various rhythmic meter of 7/8 (3+2+2), 8/8 (3+3+2), 11/8 (3+2+2+2+2), 7/8 (3+2+2) and 8/8 (half note) meter. The meters are subdivided into rhythmic patterns which are quite different from the more simplistic patterns of Western Art or American Jazz rhythms. These Turkish patterns segue to a standard 16 measure 4/4 jazz blues form which complement the work.
Scott Stanton is a professional educator, musician, and administrator with experience in public and private music instruction at all levels including the community college and university settings. He has taught music theory, music history, music technology, and directed bands, orchestras, choirs and synthesizer ensembles.
His transcriptions of Mannheim Steamroller’s music for synthesizer ensemble are published by Dots and Lines Ink, Omaha, Nebraska. His original jazz and concert band compositions are published by C. L. Barnhouse Co., Oskaloosa, Iowa.
In addition to writing and performing with his jazz trio, “Jazz Between Friends,” he is active as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest artist. Stanton is the founder of Pro Musica, a community music school in Price, Utah. He holds a bachelor of arts in music from Monmouth (Illinois) College and a master’s of music education from VanderCook College of Music, Chicago. He is a member of many professional organizations, including ASCAP, American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Educators, Iowa Bandmasters Association, and the Jazz Educators of Iowa.
Bliss: A Novel
9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015
10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16, 2015
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
O.Z. Livaneli, one of Turkey’s most prominent and popular authors, makes a special appearance at MSSU to discuss his international bestseller, Bliss, selected as the common reader for use in all sections of the University Experience 100 course for 2014-15. The book tells the stories of Meryem, a young girl sentenced to death because she is believed to have dishonored her family; Cemal, a soldier who returns from fighting the PKK in the Ghabar Mountains to find that he’s been given the task of killing his cousin, Meryem; and Professor Irfan, a well-known intellectual in the midst of an existential crisis. The three, brought together by fate, embark on a turbulent journey to the depths of themselves, of each other, and of the soul of the country.
A bestseller in Turkey in 2002, Bliss has been published in several countries including by St. Martin’s Press in the United States, Gallibard in France, Klett-Cotta in Germany, and Gramese in Italy. The novel was turned into a movie in 2007, directed by the acclaimed Turkish director Abdullah Oguz.
Ömer Zülfü Livaneli is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the cultural, artistic, and political life of Turkey. He achieved prominence and success not only as a writer and a musician but also as a film director. His novels have been turned into theatrical movies, stage plays, and operas. He is also known for his contemporary music, in much the same way as Bob Dylan and his contemporaries in the United States were in the 1960s. His 1997 concert in Ankara, Turkey was attended by no less than 500,000 people.
Livaneli has been nationally and internationally active in promoting human rights, the culture of peace, and mutual understanding between people. In 1995, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO in recognition of his contributions to world peace. He still continues to work on UNESCO’s Culture of Peace programs worldwide. In 2002, he was selected a Member of Parliament from the Republican People’s Party (CHP). On July 3, 2014, Livaneli was awarded France’s highest distinction, the Legion d’Honneur.
Livaneli has composed some 300 songs, a rhapsody − recorded by London Symphony Orchestra − and a ballet. His compositions have reached cult status nationwide and have been performed by internationally renowned artists such as Joan Baez. He has also written five plays and 30 film soundtracks.
Book Signings and Q&A with O.Z. Livaneli
11:00-11:45 a.m. and 1:00-1:50 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2014
Third floor of Spiva Library (by the fireplace)
Admission: Free
9:30-10 a.m. and 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Friday, Jan. 16, 2014
Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall
Admission: Free
Author O.Z. Livaneli will sign your copies of Bliss and answer your questions in these informal sessions.
