The History and Culture of Turkey (A non-credit personal
development course offered Spring 2010 at Rice University)
The
only country to lie in both Europe and Asia and one of the oldest continuously
inhabited regions in the world, Turkey is a rich amalgamation of cultures with
a riveting history. In a sweeping survey of this history, from antiquity to the
Ottoman Empire, Atatürk and on to modern times, participants will explore some
of the major components of Turkish identity as well as a number of linguistic,
cultural, religious and political traditions in their historical context. Lectures
on Turkish history will be complemented with a look at significant forms of
Turkish culture, including the traditional arts of calligraphy and ebru,
Nasreddin Hoca stories, Bursa's shadow puppet theater, Rumi poems, architectural
masterpieces of the Seljuk and OttomanEmpires, Turkish music and more.
Instructor:
Jeannette S. Okur, PhD, an active member of Houston's Turkish-American
community, teaches Turkish at the University of Houston. Her published work includes
topics which address literary and cultural analysis, translation theory,
teaching methodology and socio-religious history. Dr. Okur is currently working
on a translation of Mustafa Kutlu's book of short stories "Sır" and several
chapters of a book about transnational socio-religious phenomena originating in
Turkey. She holds a PhD in
comparative literature from Ankara University in Turkey. A
discussion of Ottoman history will be presented by Timothy Fitzpatrick, PhD,
visiting professor in history at Rice University.
Dates:
Eight Tuesdays, February 16-April 20,
7:00-9:00 p.m. (no class March 16 and 30)
Location:
Rice University
Fee:
$155, if registering by February 2; $165,
after February 2; $145, Rice alumni
Co-sponsors:
Raindrop Turkish House and the Institute
of Interfaith Dialog
For more information and to
register online, visit gscs.rice.edu or
call 713-348-4803
23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day Culture Contest at Rice University, Houston Texas, April 29, 2007 at 5:30 p.m.
The 1st 23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day Culture Contest hosted by The Raindrop Turkevi will be held at Rice University, Houston Texas, on April 29th, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. Students from different grades will compete in total 4 categories: Turkish Language, Turkey Geography, Turkish History and Turkish Culture. There will be chorus performance and poem reading as well.
One
of the prominent universities of United States
as well as world, University
of Texas held a two-day international
conference on Ottoman Tolerance on 24-25 March. Center for Middle Eastern
Studies of University of Texas, Raindrop Foundation, and the Institute of Interfaith
Dialog were the organizers of the conference.Conference
started with a reception held on Friday 23 March for the conference speakers
and distinguished guests. Speakers from England,
Turkey, Egypt, Macedonia,
and various cities of United States
delivered detailed information about the diversity and the tolerance existed in
the Ottoman Empire. (March 23-24,2007,AUSTIN)
Over the last two decades, the focus of world politics has shifted from ideological conflicts between the two Super Powers to the so-called “clash of civilizations”, which foresees in the post-Cold War era the collision of world civilizations on global scale. Built on the essentialist assumption of the primordial and intrinsic discord of the Islamic and the Western-Christian worlds this view predicts that a major clash will take place between these two civilizations. This self-fulfilling prophecy seems to have both legitimized and also was corroborated by the unfortunate developments on the Middle Eastern scene over the last few years.
Fortunately for the optimistic, however, history does not fall short of providing examples that defy the selective memory of the advocates of the ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis. The Mediterranean basin, the cradle of the world’s greatest civilizations, has presented us with the most vivid and productive instances of cultural interaction and peaceful coexistence. While the cultural impact of convivencia in medieval Spain paved the way for the intellectual transformation of Europe that changed the world forever, Ottoman rule in the Middle East and southeastern Europe created one of the most successful models of plural society in the early modern world.
Projects & Scholarships 
23 April National Sovereignty and Children's Day Culture Contest at Rice University, Houston Texas, April 29, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. 
Great Love Inside Me
Over the last two decades, the focus of world politics has shifted from ideological conflicts between the two Super Powers to the so-called “clash of civilizations”, which foresees in the post-Cold War era the collision of world civilizations on global scale. Built on the essentialist assumption of the primordial and intrinsic discord of the Islamic and the Western-Christian worlds this view predicts that a major clash will take place between these two civilizations. This self-fulfilling prophecy seems to have both legitimized and also was corroborated by the unfortunate developments on the Middle Eastern scene over the last few years.