Call for Participation for a 4-day interdisciplinary workshop
Turkish|German Zukunftswerkstatt 2011
IN|OUTSIDE THE DEBATE: VOICES FROM ACADEMIA IN THE TURKISH|GERMAN NEXUS
Cohesion, Integration, Diversity – beneath all of these political buzzwords lie classical struggles: who belongs and who does not, which boundaries (social, legal, discursive, economic) are drawn, how are definitional powers translated into various structures in a given society?
In Turkey and Germany, as well as in the transnational sphere between the two societies, those crucial questions have been negotiated in controversial public debates in recent years. What is the role of academics in such debates, how can and do they engage? This will be examined and discussed in this workshop using two prominent examples as point of departure:
In Germany, the ongoing „integration debate“ reached a sudden, dramatic peak in 2010 with the publication of the book “Deutschland schafft sich ab” – Germany does away with itself” by Thilo Sarrazin, a former politician and board member of the German National Bank.
Meanwhile in Turkey, a process coined Açılım (Opening), initiated since the mid-2000’s by the governing party AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) is being discussed controversially. Açılım includes changes of rigid state policies towards various minority groups in Turkey, including Kurds and Alevis (e.g. minority rights regarding language and religion).
The workshop offers a four-day interdisciplinary forum for young scholars from Germany and Turkey who work on issues relating to the Turkish|German Nexus and/or are interested in engaging in the ongoing debates in Turkey and Germany.
Dates and places: The workshop will take place between November 3rd and 6th 2011 at a Brandenburg workshop venue near Berlin.
Funding: The following costs will be covered: travel to and from Berlin (from within Germany, Turkey or nearby location) and to the workshop venue, plus accommodation and board.
Applications can be submitted before Oct 15th 2011 to: germanturkishnexus@gmail.com and more information about the sub- themes, context, and objectives are available at the website.