The Institute of Turkish Studies and Columbia University will host a one day conference on Civil Society and Human Rights in the Republic of Turkey on April 22nd at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. This conference will focus on the role played by NGOs within Turkey in the process of expanding civil society as well as individual rights during the past two decades. While the Turkish economy and foreign policy have dominated the headlines in recent years, the growth in the demand for and realization of basic human rights has been of equal importance if less focus. Speakers at this conference will include individuals who have helped bring about these developments as well as those who have written widely on them. They include Can Paker, Etyen Macupyan, Dilek Kurban and Zehra Arat.

Prof. Cuthell give a lecture entitled, "Why Turkey Matters: The re-emergence of an Historical Power" at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday February 24th at 7pm. During the past century the world has witnessed the collapse of the late Ottoman Empire and the emergence of numerous states from the ashes of empire. The Empire's core emerged as the modern Turkish nation but one that had few resources and virtually no allies in the inter-war period. Despite this, Turkey was able to maintain its independence and regain its balance. Today, we observe an increasingly confident and prosperous nation that indicates a desire to play an active and central role throughout the region. This lecture will examine the benefits as well as come of possible pitfalls that might result.

Prof. Cuthell will discuss the Ottoman imperial legacy and its influence on modern Turkish society and foreign policy. This talk will explore the ruptures and social discontinuities Turkey experienced after World War I and how this has shaped modern Turkish politics and society. The talk will take place at the Middle East Institute, Columbia University, 5:30 until 7:20 on Friday, February 11th.

The Institute of Turkish Studies and the Turkish Studies Program at Georgetown are pleased to host Dr. Bulent Atalay and the Ataturk Society of America for a lecture on November 10th entitled "A Love Story Lent a Helping Hand by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk" at 7:30 pm in the Reiss Science Building Room 103 at Georgetown University.

The International Center and the Program in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton will host Prof. David Cuthell for a lectured titled: "Turkey: A Return to the Middle"
4pm 101 McCormick on the Princeton Campus--open to the public

Turkish Coalition of America
Institute of Turkish Studies
Georgetown University
& Howard University
cordially invite you to


AFRICAN AMERICAN - TURKISH CONNECTIONS THROUGH THE ARTS


A discussion with
Dr. Magdalena J. Zaborowska (University of Michigan)
- author of James Baldwin's Turkish Decade: Erotics of Exile
& Dr. Maurice Jackson (Georgetown University)
- author of Let This Voice Be Heard: Anthony Benezet Father of Atlantic Abolitionism and at work on a history of African Americans in Washington, DC.
on the extraordinary lives of James Baldwin and Ahmet Ertegun

Copley Formal Lounge
Georgetown University
Monday, October 5th
6.30 - 9.00pm

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Leaders for the New Turkish Republic--Educated at the American Schools at Izmir and Tarsus
American educators in the late Ottoman Empire as well as the modern Turkish Republic have played a major contributory role in modern Turkey. Prof. Reed will discuss the role the American Schools in Izmir as well as the American School at Tarsus played in shaping the intellectual and world view of leaders of the Turkish Republic during the 20th century.
Prof. Reed is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Turkish History at the University of Connecticut. He earned his B.A at Yale and Ph.D. at Princeton. He was raised in Izmir and maintained a lifelong interest in the Republic of Turkey.
October 29, 2009 12-1:30
McGhee Library
Georgetown University
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Light lunch provided. Seating is limited.