Wednesday, June 24: 13th Annual Turkish Studies Symposium, "Teaching the Challenges of Modern Turkey"

We're excited to announce the program for our 13th annual Turkish Studies Symposium, “Teaching the Challenges of Modern Turkey,” which will take place on Wednesday, June 24, 3-5pm CDT.

The theme for this year's symposium is "Teaching the Challenges of Modern Turkey." Our aim for this symposium is for it to explore the state of Turkish studies in the U.S. and serve as a bridge connecting academic research and K-12 curricula.

With more than 75 million native speakers, Turkish is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. The modern Republic of Turkey sits at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and as a member of the Council of Europe, G20, OECD, and NATO and a candidate for EU membership, Turkey is a rising political and economic power. In the U.S., Turkish is a critical language as defined by the Department of State, yet a 2017 report by American Councils shows that only 27 K-12 schools in the formal U.S. education system offer Turkish-language instruction.

This year’s Turkish Studies Symposium presenters will discuss U.S.-based knowledge production about Turkey, the state of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) in the U.S., and Turkish heritage language programs in the U.S. and the micro-level policies that support them. Organized as part of the European Union Center’s K-14 summer curriculum workshop, the symposium will conclude with a live demonstration on preparing ayran — a presentation that can be subsequently adapted as a cocurricular activity in K-14 classrooms.

The symposium will be held virtually over Zoom. For the Zoom link and password, please see our events calendar.

Symposium Schedule (all times are in CDT)

Wednesday, June 24, 2020
3:00-3:10 P.M. — Welcoming remarks

3:10-3:30 P.M. — “Turkey, Iran, and the Politics of Comparatism”
Perin E. Gürel, Associate Professor of American Studies and Gender Studies, University of Notre Dame
3:30-3:40 P.M. — Q&A

3:40-4:00 P.M. — “The State of Less Commonly Taught Language Programs in the U.S.”
Ercan Balcı, Lecturer of Turkish, Boston University
4:00-4:10 P.M. — Q&A

4:10-4:30 P.M. — “Heritage Language Programs: Establishing Pedagogical Policies and Practices for Successful Programs in the U.S.”
Ozge Evcen, PhD Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4:30-4:40 P.M. — Q&A

4:40-4:55 P.M. — Cultural Activity: The History and Preparation of Ayran
Ozge Evcen, PhD Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4:55-5:00 P.M. — Closing remarks