A fashion week in the campus

Istanbul Fashion Week happened to be at the campus I work in. Santralistanbul’s large parking lot was turned into a tent town and fashion people showed around in the campus, frequenting our cafes and all. There was a Meg Ryan scandal. She showed up for a moment and then was frustrated with the crowd and she escaped basically. I don’t know who is really guilty there but we could not figure out why so much money spent for a person who is not really in the fashion business and not a hot shot any more. Or is she? I don’t know really.

It was the registration week, that meant one of the busiest periods in our academic year and I had only two ways connecting with this giant organizations. Instead of our usual parking lot, we had to park farther away, which was annoying with all rain and cold air. We swore a lot. There was a low profile clash of logics between university personnel and security people for the fashion organization. Secondly, well, it was beautiful to see around fashionable women. A friend of mine who happens to be in fashion circles sent me an invitation to one of the lingerie shows, but i wasn’t interested in that really.

via Hürriyet. Meg Ryan next to a minister and all.. More photos here.

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Prof. Aydın Uğur on Turkish cultural analysis

From Aydın Uğur’s talk Culture and Politics in Turkey. 11/24/2009. Well, i am quite late to post it but it is still valid.

Prof. Aydın Uğur, who is one of two life-saving academicians in my early academic years, gave a special lecture for our Media Studies MA program a while ago. The lecture was open to public. Prof. Uğur focused on the development of concept of culture in Turkish social sciences with particular emphasis on Communication studies. Here are my brief notes:

Culture was not in the agenda at all in the early years of Communication studies in Turkey. A sociology graduate would be accepted as a TA to the Communication faculty as sociology was alien and irrelevant to Communication studies. [This had happened 22 years ago: When our current Media dept chair Prof. Halil Nalçaoğlu applied to a teaching assistantship position in a Communication school in Ankara after graduating from METU Sociology, he wouldn’t be accepted. Then a newly PhD graduate, that is Aydın Uğur would try hard to persuade the faculty and only in the end Halil hoca would become a TA and Aydın hoca’s very first graduate student:)

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2 million workers are expected to strike today. Strike diary will be updated all day

Honestly, it will surprise me if the strike succeeds. I will keep an eye on what happens today. update: 6 Feb 2010. It seemed that the general strike did not really work. Worker actions remained low profile… Petrolİş started a unionisation campaign here. What we accomplished with ?Tekel resistance? by ORAL ÇALIŞLAR – RADİKAL The … Read more

Erkan talks to Changing Turkey blog

Interview with Dr. Erkan SAKA on Media and Politics February 1, 2010 by Changing Turkey 1. Could you tell us a bit about your recent/forthcoming publications? I had produced three articles/essays during my dissertation research. One was related to a theoretical discussion on Assemblage (Marcus George E. and Erkan Saka, 2006, ?Assemblage?, Theory, Culture & Society, … Read more

Istanbul in 2010. A heavy metal haven! (#istanbul2010)

Here are some of the upcoming concerts. All major bands will be in town!

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/40185275.jpg
Destruction

07 March

Destruction Istanbul konseri yer: Jolly Joker Balans
Destruction, Electric Circus, Murder King, Kırmızı, SST, O.K. Band
Jolly Joker Balans
İstanbul, Türkiye

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AKP’s class war?

Here comes my second most intense critic of AKP government. (here is the first one back in October 2008)

Foto: Kiralık İşçi Yasası yeniden Meclis'te
Things have changed. Now AKP has become a center-right wing party riding on wild capitalism. Although it sounds like a cliché, this is exactly what is happening. Recently, PM. Erdoğan attended a mall’s opening ceremony (why does a PM attend a mall opening is another question) and declared that “grocery stores are passé. Now it is the time of malls. Grocery store owners have to unite to survive”, something like that… I wonder if AKP leadership is doing any calculations on class politics. With all commercial-legal regulations AKP government is playing against small-scale businesses. They were never good at with workers and now they also abandon those businesses. Is this a rational calculation? I have heard more and more complaints from ordinary people who voted for AKP. Macro-economic developments might be doing all right but micro-economic woes grow. I do not believe AKP can still win with playing cultural and political politics. Yesterday, PM Erdoğan was lamenting: Youth memorize the top song lists in Western countries but do not know our cultural values, stuff. I do not belive this cultural populism will always work…

There has been a worker strike which had gained momentum and gradually media coverage: TEKEL has been privatized and the new owner will probably fire most of the workers. Workers will get compensation but most want to continue to work and they strike. It is not a new story and not always workers are right and TEKEL workers’ action is partially manipulated by anti-AKP circles. However, there is a pattern of AKP’s anti-labor politics. AKP is just too pro-corporate. I am not even anti-capitalist but this level of pro-corporate politics will turn masses against AKP and its possible democratisation moves…

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Introducing Turkish Cybersphere (4)

* ? Turkish internet users have recently performed a virtual protest against web censorship: Visualize Dissent: Turkish Users Protest Censorship Using Google Maps * Turkish web enterpreneurship site etohum announced 15 web projects it will support in 2010. * Madde Bağımlısı announced 8 most creative blogs here. * Webrazzi announced a number of successful web … Read more

Erkan’s novel reading spree

I am about to finish reading Murat Menteş’ last novel. This is the last of a series of quality novels I have been reading. He has earned quite a fame in Turkey and he deserves it. Good geeky appropriation of popular culture images. All other novels are award winning novels and I would recommend all … Read more

Istanbul under snow (#istanbul2010)

İstanbul beyaza büründü 23.01.2010

More photos can be found here.

Istanbul is under snow and life stopped in our European capital of culture. I decided to give a break to my life, and now camping in my parents’ place. Watching tens of episodes of How I Met Your Mother, reading, eating and napping. But this of course entails family thingies like watching food (in the morning) and marriage programs (afternoon) with mum….I hear that snow will be affective until Monday…

Another Istanbul 2010 video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C8xWl8dq1k

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Nuray Mert should be happy. Constitutional Court assures military tutelage…

Nuray Mert should be happy. The columnist who has been writing recently about a possible civilian dictatorship (AKP one party regime) should feel satisfied with the latest Constitutional Court decision that assures military tutelage…

Turkey’s Constitutional Court rules against civil trials for military
Hurriyet Daily News
That includes the Ergenekon trial of former military officers charged with attempting to overthrow the government. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s

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Solve the Dink assassination, solve the Ergenekon….

last updated: 21 Jan

It has been three years and not much progress in the Hrant Dink Assassination case. I believe if judiciary and authorities will push forward to solve the Dink case, Ergenekon trial will also progress. Evidence is just there and accomplices are alive  but unfortunately “authorities” are hesitant to solve the case… Today, we, as friends of Hrant Dink, attended the commemoration at the place where he was murdered. It was sharply cold and snowy and many people I know just did not attend because of that. Thanks God, I am in peace with my consciousness, I stood by Him today and I will continue follow his case…

Hrant Dink ölümünün 3.'ncü yılında anıldı

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Istanbul: one of the European cultural capitals for 2010 (#istanbul2010)

It was a bit of unlucky for Istanbul as there were 7 concerts all over Istanbul in such a cold night. Well, I am more concerned for future “cultural” activities. Pop music concerts and fireworks are now handy. In nearly every national or religious days, Istanbul witnesses similar events. Let’s see what will differ now… In the mean time, for tweeter people #istanbul2010 where you will find Istanbul 2010 news…

İstanbul 2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti

More photos here.

Istanbul launches year as European cultural capital
AFP
ISTANBUL ? Istanbul on Saturday launched a year of art events as it became one of three Cultural Capitals of Europe for 2010, feting the occasion with



Google Turkey‘s logo to celebrate the event!

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19 January. Friends of Hrant invite you to remember the assassination

19 Jan 2007: Hrant Dink was killed by an armed attack he was exposed to at around 15.00 hrs on his way out of Agos newspaper on Halaskargazi street, Istanbul. His friends invite you to commemorate in front of the Agos newspaper on Jan 19. More possible info in English here.

Introducing Turkish Cybersphere (3)- Turkish online news sites and more

A list of Turkish online news sites. Not necessarily the completed list. All new additions are welcome. Aktif Haber Açık İstihbarat BIANET Boyut Haber Cafe Siyaset Dünya Bülteni En Son Haber EtikHaber GazeteDergi.com gazetem.net Gazeteport Gazeteciler Gerçek Gündem: Haber3.com Haber7 Haberkenti Haberler.Com HABERTÜRK haberciler.com Haber Vitrini Haber X Haksöz Haber İnternethaber iyibilgi.com Kodadimedya.com Leyditurk.com MEDYATAVA … Read more

Turkey is not heading towards civilian fascism…

http://img.blogcu.com/uploads/5nolu_bizim-cocuklar.jpg

As the military tutelage is under heavy assault, another wave of counter-attack comes from the pro-military circles. That definitely does not mean anyone suspecting of a possible civilian fascism era is pro-military. But hegemonic issues are complicated and thus it is hard to detect who is who in these hegemonic struggles. A sincerely concerned columnist’s ideas may easily be manipulated. Like Şerif Mardin’s ideas on “neighborhood pressure” before, some sincere ideas seems to be manipulated these days. My brief ideas for the moment:

1. It is a normalization baby.In many fronts. Turkey’s leadership was so distanced from the ordinary citizens. A total separation of worlds. Now it looks a bit similar. Is this good? I don’t know. But arrogant materially westernized but mentally oriental and distanced Turkish elites are replaced arrogant materially local and mentally local and seemingly less distanced elites.This annoys circles associated with older elites. These maybe sincerely democratic in thought but class counts. Social class reflexes rise unconsciously as the transformation of elites continue…

2. Just having a larger historical perspective: Was there any time in Turkish Republican that is better than now? This strongly worded “civilian fascism” always existed if one has to admit its existence. But there was always a military tutelage to this civilian fascism. (As if military tutelage was possible without civilian backing). Now the latter is gone (I am still not sure about that, too), civilians can enter into intelligible communication about democratization. Now that some parties will not call the Army for help!

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