Academia news

TÜBA President represents the state of Turkish academia…

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I always heard it as a gossip but a few days ago TÜBA (The Turkish Academy of Sciences) President Prof. Yücal Kanpolat made it official in my eyes: Prof. Şerif Mardin was not accepted as a member of the Academy because he “polished” Said Nursi too much. Prof. Kanpolat claims that not because Prof. Mardin studied on Said Nursi but because he praised him he was not accepted to the Academy.  Şerif Mardin is one of the best social scientists ever lived in modern Turkey and his work on Said Nursi (Religion and social change in modern Turkey: the case of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi) is probably the first sociological work on this religious figure. Because he did not explicitly demonize Said Nursi, he was “excommunicated”. Kemalist scholarly establishment could never forgive him while generations of social scientists relied on his many works to create a better understanding of the social…

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Bilgi University becomes the first private university to unionize in Turkey

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After being acquired by an American education company, Laureate, (starting with this academic year, 2009-2010), Bilgi University employees of all sorts (academics and administrative workers) had been increasingly having job security issues as well as anxiety for possible policy changes. There haven’t been many concrete cases to encourage this rise of anxieties (but of course … Read more

“Anthropology Journals ranked by the ARC”

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Anthropology Journals ranked by the ARC

from Culture Matters by gregdowney

The Australian Research Council has released its 2010 list of journals, ranked into four grades: A*, A, B, and C (with a few listed as ?unranked?). The complete list can be accessed through the ARC website here, but it?s a large Excel file (5.27 mb). The list is part of an audit of university research initially proposed by the last government. As the ARC?s website explains:

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“Freedom House: freedom declines again

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Freedom House: freedom declines again

from FP Passport by Joshua Keating

Freedom House released its 2010 Freedom in the World survey, which sadly, shows overall freedom declining around the world for the fourth straight year. The report designates a total of 89 countries as free, 58 as partly free, and 47 as not free. Last week, I asked Freedom House Director of Research Arch Puddington about some of the more surprising developments from this year in freedom:

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On conference organizing and more

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A nice post on conference organizing, another look at Copenhagen summit and activism, some more interesting posts and images…

Thoughts on conference organizing

from Culture Matters by gregdowney

There have been a couple of interesting posts I?ve run across in my attempts to find out what happened at the 2009 AAA conference (see especially Lorenz?s run-down at antropologi.info). These discussions of conferences in general have encouraged me to write something about my own experiences organizing and attending conferences over the past year (see also, Lorenz?s What?s the point of anthropology conferences?, Kerim?s What?s Your Favorite Anthropology Conference? and Strong?s How to attend a conference in a couple hours). I thought I?d add a different perspective; that of the amateur, I?ll-never-do-it-again (dis-)organizer.

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More advice from Savage Minds to grad school applicants…

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(More) advice on graduate school applications

from Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology ? A Group Blog by Rex

Deadlines for graduate school applications are coming up again. Last year I wrote some quick pointers on applying to graduate school but since then I?ve developed my boiler-plate for our school even more as additional requests for information have entered my mailbox. So here is the latest iteration of my advices for applying to graduate school. Although it is written for where I teach, most of what I say is applicable to anywhere. Good luck!

Not Just Drones: Militants Can Snoop on Most U.S. Warplanes

from Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin

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Yesterday, news broke that insurgents used a $25 application available online to hack into US military drone video feeds, and view, copy, and potentially distribute their contents. Hmmmm… Unauthorized copying of audio and video material? Some on Twitter have suggested that we might just send the MPAA or RIAA after them — then, for sure we’ll at last find Bin Laden. But Wired Danger Room’s Noah Shachtman says,

Herbert Brandl at Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman

Herbert Brandl at Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman

from Contemporary Art Daily by Forrest

Artist: Herbert Brandl

Venue: Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Innsbruck

Exhibition Title: Spektrolith

Date: November 14, 2009 ? January 29, 2010

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Special Issue on Michel Foucault by Theory, Culture and Society Journal

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You need to have subscription to this great journal to read the articles but I am sure all major university libraries are subscribed to. At the end there is also roundup on art/intellectual/academic links…
[update: all articles downloadable here]
Introduction: Thinking after Michel Foucault
Couze Venn and Tiziana Terranova
Theory Culture Society 2009;26 1-11
http://tcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/1
Alternatives to the Prison: Dissemination or Decline of Social Control?
Michel Foucault
Theory Culture Society 2009;26 12-24
http://tcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/12
Foucault’s Untimely Struggle: Toward a Form of Spirituality
Paul Rabinow
Theory Culture Society 2009;26 25-44
http://tcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/25
Identity, Nature, Life: Three Biopolitical Deconstructions
Judith Revel
Theory Culture Society 2009;26 45-54
http://tcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/45

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"Wim Wenders closing speech – I'm talking about us, Europeans!

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HineyVirus.jpg

And now there’s a T-shirt to prove it. Hiney shirts at CafePress

Founs in H1N1: It’s Pronounced “Hiney”

Wim Wenders closing speech – I’m talking about us, Europeans!

from LabforCulture Blog

Closing speech by Wim Wenders, President of the European Film Academy, during the European Culture Forum.

The speech was read out by EFA director Ms Döring, and is available for download as a PDF on the European Commission website.

A few months ago, the European Film Academy organised a think tank dedicated to “THE IMAGE OF EUROPE”.

 

The think tank took place under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who actually joined us on that occasion and took a very active and very outspoken part in it.

and Erkan’s rounup of interesting things from the web:

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17th Annual EU – Turkey Conference of Journalists at Bilgi U.

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We cordially invite you to a panel discussion on the future of EU-Turkey relations.

Within the scope of the 17th Annual EU – Turkey Conference of Journalists, a panel discussion on the future of EU-Turkey relations will take place at İstanbul Bilgi University?s santralistanbul Campus. Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Turkey Ambassador Marc Pierini and a group of journalists will participate in the panel where current developments in the EU-Turkey relations will be discussed. The panel will be opened by Prof. Dr. Halil Güven, Rector of İstanbul Bilgi University and moderated by Prof. Ayhan Kaya, Director of BİLGİ?s European Institute.

The journalists invited to the panel include (in alphabetical order): Mehmet Altan (Star-tbc), Murat Belge (Taraf), Florence Biedermann (AFP, France), Abdülhamit Bilici (Zaman / Cihan News Agency),   Mehmet Ali Birand (Posta / Milliyet/ HDN / Kanal D), Cansu Çamlıbel (Hürriyet), Evangelos Demiris (Athens News Agency, Greece), Konstanty Gebert (Gazeta Wyborcza,  Poland), Rolf Gustavsson (Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden), Emil Hurezeanu (Realitatea-Catavencu, Romania), John Peet (The Economist, UK), Leyla Tavşanoğlu (Cumhuriyet-tbc), Michael Thumann (Die Zeit, Germany).

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Two universities, two perspectives

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Two promotional video spreading in the web, mostly in Facebook. The first one is about Bilgi University, particularly Visual Communication Design program. The second one promotes the library at Koç University. The latter is hosted at the library site and a kitsch product officially owned. The former is a viral one, not officially hosted or … Read more

Burqas and anthropologists

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France asks anthropologist for advice on burqa-ban

by Lorenz

France banned burqas in public schools in 2004. Now, a parliamentary commission is investigating a possible ban on burqas in public places and anthropology professor John Bowen was asked to testify on this matter, Student Life and New York Times report.

And older round of anthro news and unrelated images from the web:

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Darwin ban is a shame!

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Check out the related material below and more… 

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Tips from Savage Minds for graduate study applications

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Rex from Savage Minds provides tips for applying anthro programs but i guess they are relevant for any social science programs… 

Getting into graduate school in anthropology: What we/I look for in applicants

By Rex on How To

I am serving on the admissions committee of my department again this year, and as usual we are in a position to admit at maximum 20% of the total applicants we receive. I don’t want to reveal the confidential deliberations of the committee, but it has gotten me thinking a lot about how to apply for graduate school, what I look for in an application and how people should prepare theirs. What people look for varies from place to place, and different people will have different priorities than I do, but I offer this to help orient people to an application process that is often confusing and opaque to people who go through it. What, then, do I look for when we admit people to graduate school?………

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Bologna Process at Bilgi

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What do we do in the campus now? It is the semester break for students but we work on several bureacratic tasks. I change readings every semester so now i have to work on two syllabi for the courses I will be lecturing in the Spring semester. The classes will begin on 16 Feb. But … Read more

Toby Miller on Trends and Issues in Cultural Studies

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News

Wolf Vostell, Coca-Cola, 1961 FOUND IN LACMA Features First U.S. Exhibition to Examine Art Developed During the Cold War

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