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Cagri Erhan
JTW Columnist |
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Wednesday, 16 September 2009
The newly established Center for Transatlantic Studies at USAK will mainly study issues related to the United States. This Center will inevitably include Canada and Latin American countries in its studies as well.
USAK has rewarded innovation and been a leading center for thinking since its inception. Thus, its American Studies Program will evolve in a different direction and nature than has usually been done in Turkey.
In general, security studies dominate American studies in Turkey. Theses prepared in Turkish universities and related to America have mostly been written either in history or international relations departments. The most popular subject has been the alliance between the United States and Turkey. American missionary activities in Turkey, economics, energy, issues of regional cooperation and disagreement have followed the security studies on America. The departments of American Culture and Literature are also scholarly places in which America is being studied. In these departments, instead of strategic issues, the focus is mainly on American cultural-societal issues. However, even a simple search in national theses databank of YÖK (Higher Education Board) will reveal that even studies done in the abovementioned departments have been in a very narrow field.
There exist departments in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Turkish General Staff that deal with American issues. Yet, since those departments are too occupied with ‘the routine’ they have been unable to realize comprehensive analyses on American issues. Even when they do, because they are being preserved in “cosmic lockers”, the public knows little about the existence of studies as such.
Considering the role the United States has played in the Turkish economy, military, and society for the last half century it is surprising to observe that the U.S. has not been brought under close scrutiny in a rationally organized manner in Turkey. While there appear various centers for European Studies in all Turkish universities, American studies have been neglected. The newly instituted Latin American Studies at Ankara University and the Center for American Studies at Bahcesehir University constitute the exception, not the rule.
We aim at going beyond the cliché, “economy-security” focused perspective, at USAK Transatlantic Studies. A wide range of issues such as the American political system, socio-cultural structure, climate issues, religious sects and movements, Hollywood as well as popular culture will be studied and the results will be shared with the public. Turkish-American relations, developments pertaining to NATO, and Europe-Atlantic relations will naturally be among issues studied.
Professor Cagri Erhan
(Translated from Turkish Version by Omer Aslan & Edited by Kaitlin MacKenzie)
