Turkey
Politics of Space and Spectacle
Since the 1980's, Turkey, and in particular Istanbul, has seen unprecedented transformations with influences of rapid urbanization, the emergence of consumerism, and an "opening" up to new configurations of public space and images. While Turkey's accession to the E.U. remains elusive, and the country's role on the global economic and political stages is being debated, images and imaginings of Istanbul have acquired new and complex significance.
This seminar poses the questions—Who produces images of Istanbul? Who benefits from the production of particular images? What spaces have been created via urban “renewal” projects? Who inhabits and who is denied participation in these spaces?
Participants will gain insights and analytical perspectives to frame these questions through direct experiences in Istanbul’s dynamic environment. Declared a "cultural capital of Europe" in 2010, a number of civic initiatives, municipal "urban renewal" (i.e., gentrification) projects, and cultural events have literally and figuratively reoriented, reshaped, and repackaged Istanbul for consumption on local and global levels. Through lectures with faculty of distinguished universities, discussions with NGOs and community leaders, dialogs with individuals involved in the production of culture, and site visits to neighborhoods both in the center and the periphery of Istanbul, participants will recognize, and hopefully, relate to the challenges of this milieu.