Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey - CEST

The 6th Symposium beings with a keynote lecture by Edhem Eldem on the 'mare aliorum', the 'sea of others'. To watch the keynote: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanSymposiumTurkey

Annual European Symposium on Turkey Official page of the 6th Annual European Symposium on Turkey (CEST) | 25-27 Nov. 2021 | L'Orientale University of Naples (Italy)

The first CEST summer school is being held virtually this fall due to the lingering pandemic. Registration is closed and classes full, but the opening keynote address by renowned sociologist Prof. Nira Yuval-Davis this Friday is open to the public!

Register to attend by emailing [email protected]

The graduate school is jointly organized by the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany and Academy in Exile with support from the Stiftung Mercator, Svenska institutet, and SUITS Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies.

Regularly updated information on CEST and Network Turkey

CEST - Network Turkey The role of the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey is to convene annual high-quality academic events that seek to make a major impact in the field of Turkish Studies in Europe, create new ways of engaging with the study of Turkey, and make this field more accessible to the debates in the soc...

The 2019 Symposium is now open for applications and scheduled for the end of November!

Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey
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Call for Papers – 5th Annual European Symposium on Turkey:

"The Concept of Culture and its Politicization in Turkey and the Diaspora"
Vienna, 29-30 November 2019

Even though in its core the emergence of ‘Modern Turkey’ could be considered a cultural
revolution, some discourses on culture as well as fundamental transformations in the field of
culture can arguably be traced back to the late Ottoman period. This symposium inquires
the ways in which the concept of culture and the idea of its homogeneity featured in
late Ottoman and Turkish discourses. It seeks to unearth the methods culture was and is
used as a tool for implementing and legitimizing a political project. Yet, the
imposition of, for example, the humanist cultural project in the 1930s and 40s never was
all-encompassing nor uncontested by members of the multiethnic and -religious society.
Even in today’s Turkey in which the implementation of a new political regime has had
massive repercussions for the functioning of institutions and the relationship between
state and society, the state still failed to gain an all-inclusive control in cultural realm and
“pockets of resistance” continue to exist.
Culture is understood as a highly contested resource, yet, something which is
continuously in process and hence not fixed. Culture serves as the field for affirming
hegemonic discourse but also as a space to create and perform resistance strategies. For
that, culture is not an exclusive term which only applies to high culture, it also includes all
sorts of mundane and everyday practices, performances and expressions.

The meeting will investigate and discuss the various forms of “cultural engineering” through
history, the different discourses on culture and the numerous practices of
articulating, performing and producing culture as well as cultural identities/resources – be it
in line with or against the cultural policy of the state. Turkey’s official cultural policies
aimed at Turkish citizens living abroad will also be a focus of the symposium.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
● Literature, Theatre, Cinema, Visual Arts, Music
● Emerging “traditional” arts and the folklorization of tradition
● Culture and civil society
● Minority cultures / Minoritization of cultures
● Subcultures
● Culture and heritage
● Dichotomies between nature/culture, urban/provincial cultures, high/low culture
● Culture and memory
● Culture and politics / Culturalization of politics
● Transnational cultures
● Gender and culture
We welcome contributions from all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences (both
quantitative and qualitative) and encourage interdisciplinary and comparative work in
collaborative form.

Abstract submission

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words along with a brief academic CV.
Abstracts should include a research question and information about data/empirical material,
methodology and expected/preliminary findings. Selected papers will be published in a special
issue of a peer reviewed journal.
The language of the symposium is English.
Abstracts and CVs should be submitted via email to: [email protected]

Funding
Selected participants are eligible for the funding of flight (plus local public transportation)
and accommodation. Flight tickets will be reimbursed up to 300 Euros. (For co-authored
papers, funding will be available for one of the presenters.)

The event is co-organized by the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey (CEST).
CEST is committed to the study of modern Turkey by bringing together the expertise of
leading European research institutions. It convenes annual high-quality academic events that
create new ways of engaging with the study of Turkey and make this field more accessible to
the debates in the social sciences. It, in particular, aims at creating platforms of networking
and visibility particularly for younger academics. CEST is supported by Stiftung Mercator
(http://www.network-turkey.org/cest/).

Deadlines and dates
Call posted: 13 March
Deadline for submissions: 12 June
Decisions announced: 15 July
Papers submitted: 15 November
Symposium: 29 November to 30 November
Questions can be directed to Ayşe Dilsiz Hartmuth at [email protected]

CEST - Network Turkey

We are thrilled to announce the Call for Papers for the third annual CEST Symposium: "Politics of Emotions in Turkey and its Connected Geographies", co-organised by Contemporary Turkish Studies, London School of Economics. Deadline for applications: 15 June 2017.

Interdisciplinary symposium (1-2 December 2017): Politics of Emotions in Turkey and Its Connected Geographies - including CfP - Contemporary Turkish Studies - Research and Impact - European Institute - Home In Turkey politics is often emotional and emotions are highly politicized. However, a closer look at public and political expressions of emotions shows that distinctive emotions show salience at different decades and under different political projects. In other words, emotions are historically, poli...

Early morning panel in Paris on politics and policies from below: Exciting perspectives on the mutual constitution of formal/informal and below/above politics.

We are delighted to announce the programme for the Second CEST Symposium: "Politics from below in Turkey and beyond", Centre de Reserches Internationales, SciencesPo, 1-2 December 2016.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Politics from below in Turkey and beyond, Paris, 1-2 December 2016.

Submission Deadline: 15 June 2016.

The Centre for International Studies at Sciences Po, together with the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey (CEST), is delighted to invite paper submissions for a Symposium to be held from December 1-2, 2016 at Sciences Po in Paris, France.

The Symposium on Politics from Below in Turkey and beyond seeks to identify and discuss, in comparative perspective, the dynamics, effects and modes of "politics from below". We use the broad wording “politics from below” in a heuristic fashion, in order to question classical definitions of the “political”. This framing aims to suggest different understandings of politics. Political science on Turkey and the wider region has long been dominated by top-down and macro approaches, addressing mainly national institutions, political leaders, public discourses and legislative productions.

However, sociology has shown that taking in account the implementation of policies by lower administrators, as well as their reception by citizens, challenges common perceptions of political processes. Anthropology has widely challenged the institutional and formal definitions of politics. Gender studies, as well as subaltern studies, have called for broader conceptions of politics. New conceptualizations have been proposed, like “infrapolitics” (Scott), “politique par le bas” (Bayart, Mbembe, Toulador), “vernacular politics” (White) or “low politics” (Bayat). Constructionist approaches have addressed the question from yet another perspective, suggesting that there is nothing “essentially” political, and that “the political”, on the contrary, is constructed and contested.

The aim of this symposium is to open up the very definition of “politics” and discuss multiple social practices whose “political” dimension is at stake. Approaching politics from below encourages us to question the shifting borders and conceptualizations of politics. The symposium therefore encourages several pathways: firstly, to get away from event-driven and institutional analyses of politics by giving more attention to the everyday and the ordinary; secondly, to analyze the multiple social uses of institutions and devices in general; thirdly, to account for a wider range of actors (not only “professional” politicians but also citizens, consumers, residents, lower bureaucrats or activists, street-corner shopkeepers, hackers, etc.) and a wider range of practices (registration, consumption, migration, gossip and denunciation, but also aesthetics, etc.).

How does taking in account politics from below challenge our understanding of power dynamics? “Politics from below” is easily equated with resistance, subversion or autonomy - especially in times of growing authoritarianism. However, politics from below does not necessarily mean contestation, and may as well consolidate domination. Do larger transformations impact politics from below? For instance, does growing authoritarianism lead to the politicization of social phenomena or to the contrary to depoliticization dynamics – may be both at the same time? Does neoliberalism impact ways of doing politics, for example fuel the informalization of politics? How does this dimension challenge our understanding of power dynamics in contemporary Turkey and beyond?


Abstract submissions should engage with one or several of the following themes:

1. Politics from below. A critical assessment
Which are the main conceptual debates on politics from below? What is the explanatory and heuristic power of concepts such as “infrapolitics”, “low politics”, “politique par le bas”, “vernacular politics”, etc.? Is politics from below a mere residue or does is challenge core meanings of power dynamics?

2. Informal politics
How is politics entangled in presumably non-political phenomena (personal networks, solidarity ties)? How does taking in account those dimensions alter our understanding of politics? To what extent do visible politics (party politics, state policies, etc.) rely on such informal networks and to what extent are they autonomous from them?

3. Transactions and negotiations
How are public but also organizational (party, NGO, etc.) policies implemented in practice? How can we analyze the multiple social uses of institutions and public policies? To what extent does a look at street-level bureaucrats or activists change our understanding of policies or politics? Which kinds of negotiations and transactions do institutional and formal policies give birth to? To what extent do these negotiations change the meaning of those initiatives?

4. Challenging the borders of the political. Politicization and depoliticization in practice
Which (new) areas are contested as a political domain – for example as spheres of public policy and contest? Do political cleavages get into new spheres of practice (economy, professional organizations, education, lifestyle, reproduction)? How do different actors reframe issues or actions as being political or not? How does the label of “political” impact the legitimacy of issues, actors or initiatives?

5. Contestation and the consolidation of hegemony.
What are the effects of these forms of politics from below – do they fuel resistance, accommodation or consolidate domination? How to assess the subversive dimension of politics from below?

We welcome applications from all fields related to the study of society and politics, with a particular interest in comparative work. We would also like to stress our interest in historical studies and a critical debate on the conclusions, which can be drawn from those historical cases for our understanding of politics from below today. Our regional emphasis is on Turkey and its region, but we welcome comparative or conceptual work from other world regions, as long as it promises valuable insights for our regional angle.

Applicants are invited to submit:

• an abstract of max. 300 words,
• a CV of max. 300 words,
• a full CV (table form) with publications if applicable.

The submission deadline is 15 June 2016. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

Factsheet

Convenor: Elise Massicard

Who can apply: PhD Students, Post-Docs and academics. Advanced Master students may apply, if their proposal is based on fresh empirical work.

Submission deadline: 15 June 2016

Submission requirements: 300 word abstract, 300 word CV, publication list.

Submission mailbox: [email protected]

Expenses: Accommodation for two nights and travel expenses will be reimbursed. Travel expenses will be reimbursed according to the country of your institution, i.e. for Europe (incl. Turkey) up to 300 Euro.

Submission of papers: Draft papers will have to be submitted by mid-October.

Publication: We will support the publication of the best papers.

Successful applicants will be informed mid-July 2016.

Please consult Dr. Elise Massicard for further information: [email protected]

This Symposium is convened as part of the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey (CEST) which is funded by Stiftung Mercator. CEST is committed to the study of modern Turkey by bringing together the expertise of leading European research institutions: Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, London School of Economics, SciencesPo Paris, Stockholm University, Universität Hamburg, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Leiden University, Network Turkey.

Dear followers of the Consortium for European Symposia on Turkey,

The CEST 2016 Symposium will take place at SciencesPo Paris this coming December. Please tune in for for further updates and the call for papers.

Best wishes,

Your CEST Team

The Inaugural Symposium on Turkey starts tomorrow! Click for details and the updated programme.

Populism, majoritarianism and crises of liberal democracy: Modes of illiberal governance in... Symposium Theme The inaugural Symposium on Turkey deals with the problematic stepchildren of democracy: Populism, majoritarianism and competitive authoritarianism. These three modes of governance and contestation have become increasingly pronounced, to an extent even within solidly democratic politi…