Academia news

I am quoted in this article: “Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives …in Turkiye”

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Dear Bilge and her colleagues interviewed me, among other experts and academics, for the article: Şenyüz, B., Özgen, E., & Oğuzcan, A. U. (2025). Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives on its benefits, challenges, and future prospects in Turkiye. Encontros Bibli: revista eletrônica de biblioteconomia e ciência da … Read more

Academic freedoms in the US under threat. A list of second Trump gov’t attack so far

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For ages, I have written about the restrictive measures against academic freedom in Türkiye. It was nearly unthinkable to imagine this for the US setting, but here comes a period when American academics may be under more pressure than back home. Yesterday, I saw the news that Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian … Read more

STS Türkiye 2025 Winter School Program

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It has been an honor to be part of STS Türkiye for more than four years. We could not get funding on time, so lecturers paid their own tickets to come and lecture in Ankara. Thanks to the Ministry of Youth, students could stay in a beautiful guest house! Monday, February 3, 2025 12:00Arrival 13.00-14.00Lunch … Read more

More than 60 German and Austrian academic organizations depart X; Exodus continues

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As more than 60 German and Austrian academic organizations depart X, a day after Musk’s Weidel talk, I have curated a list of institutions that left X. I have also looked to see if these academic organizations are looking for alternatives. There are just too many alternatives, and engagement levels are still low. Media Organizations … Read more

Historians Condemn ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza at Conference

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update: Historians’ Council Vetoes Gaza Scholasticide Condemnation American Historical Association convention-goers overwhelmingly passed the statement on Jan. 5, but the group’s top elected body has vetoed it without letting all AHA members vote. I guess there might be similar outcomes in other fields, too. Historians Condemn ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza at Conference The measure now goes … Read more

R.I.P James C. Scott

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Despite being a star academic, he was kind enough to return my emails when I was an MA student. His Weapons of the Weak was influential in political thinking, and his Seeing Like a State was a major source for me retreating from a particular radical politics. In my Rice years, my research focus changed, … Read more

In Barcelona for the #EASA2024 conference

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The official site is slightly clunky, but you can get it all there. My session is tomorrow.  I have asked the chatGPT to categorize the conference topics: Top Topics at the EASA 2024 Conference Doing and Undoing Mobility: Several panels address the dynamics of mobility, immobility, and migration, often from an anthropological lens. Anthropology of … Read more

From Sarajevo back to Istanbul

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POINT organizers were just great. We felt at home, productive meetings, exchanging ideas, and some sightseeing…   One of the last places I meant to see was Gazi Husrev-beg’s library When you enter the library, the smell of books hits you. I did some reading there with many in the reading room but did not … Read more

What do we do with AI Similarity Reports?

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We use Turnitin, which also offers AI similarity reports. There is nearly universal acceptance of Turnitin similarity reports in higher education, but AI similarity reports are a different case. I know a few students whom I trust had high similarity rates. This week, we discussed this with my colleagues. Some colleagues are very aggressive and … Read more

Wikipedia entries on “April 2024 Israel–Hamas war protests on university campuses in the United States”

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April 2024 Israel–Hamas war protests on university campuses in the United States Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated on April 17, 2024, spreading to other universities in the United States and other countries, as a part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. The escalation began after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters … Read more

Our COST meeting in Istanbul

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  This week has been overwhelmingly busy. A few days ago, we met in Istanbul for the Istanbul session for our GRADE COST project. My colleague Ivo Furman did a fantastic job of organizing the event in a lovely place in Istanbul (check out the place, Postane). I also participated in organizing a Wikipedia session … Read more

Unrest in US Campuses. A list of recent issues on American campuses related to pro-Palestinian causes

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Recent issues on American campuses related to pro-Palestinian causes include (The list was created with the help of Perplexity):   Suppression of pro-Palestinian voices: There has been a surge in reports of pro-Palestinian activists being fired or facing threats for expressing their views, which has been described as the “Palestine exception to free speech”[2]. Legal … Read more

The Clash Over Pro-Palestine Events in Germany. Nancy Fraser is the latest instance…

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Prof. Fraser‘s case was really disappointing… Cologne University has canceled philosopher Nancy Fraser’s planned professorship after learning she signed a pro-Palestine letter. In her first interview after the cancellation, Fraser says she won't let Germany stop her from standing up for Palestine. https://t.co/B6tzjZ2I08 — Jacobin (@jacobin) April 10, 2024 Germany has been under pressure to … Read more

Moral policing at work in the academia

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If I were the decision maker, I would not cancel the panel; in the other case, I wouldn’t accuse the professor of islamophobia. Virtue signaling is running amok and losing the virtuousness it once had. Since the interview with Umut Özkırımlı a few years ago, our local virtue signallers are at work, accusing me whenever … Read more

Özkırımlı’s (@UOzkirimli) book on #Cancelled: Both against right-wing authoritarian populism and regressive woke Left identity politics

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It has been released now. Ümit Özkırımlı‘s long-awaited book is out. He has been a target of cancel culture practices which had a hard toll on him. I am glad that he could prepare this book. The “woke culture” is killing the left identity politics, which is a tribute to what led to these days. … Read more