The Turkish Right

This doctoral seminar aims to engage with the right-wing in modern Turkish politics, both chronologically and thematically. First and foremost, it attempts to throw a bridge across the gap that separates global incarnations of the right and its Turkish counterparts. The emphasis on conceptual clarity and recalibration is an important aspect of the course, as is the comparative perspective. Second, the seminar traces the impact of right-wing intellectuals, movements, and parties from late Ottoman origins up to contemporary Turkey. Following the historical introduction, lectures focus on individual themes: boundaries of the political community, anti-communism, history and memory, economy and development, gender, and right-wing art. Finally, students are expected to write a research paper of publishable quality as their main assignment. Therefore, another aim of the seminar is to a) motivate students to handle primary material (published, visual, audible), and b) teach how to analyze critically and from a political science perspective a variety of sources including official documents, memoirs, documentaries, fiction, poetry, movies and art works.