Welcomes Speakers from Yeditepe University

On Thursday, Oct. 10,
Banu Koçer Reisman, Ph.D., and Dila Çelik from Yeditepe University,
will visit Manhattan College as part of the Great Cities Lecture Series,
and discuss the recent protest events in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Square.

Koçer Reisman, assistant professor in the department of Sociology,
and Celik, a senior studying political science and international
relations, will present Place and Protest: Istanbul, Taksim Square and Future of Turkey in
the Alumni Room of O’Malley Library at 4 p.m. The discussion will focus
on the factors that motivated the massive mobilization, and also
analyze the recent political and economic factors underlying the
protests and influencing contemporary Turkish society. 

In addition to her teaching career at Yeditepe University, Koçer
Reisman has conducted research in environmental justice and grassroots
movements from the perspective of the political economy. In fact, she is
the co-author of paper, “Political Islam and State Legitimacy in
Turkey: The Role of National Culture in State-Building,” which was
published in the International Political Sociology.

The Great Cities Lecture Series, started by the Urban Studies
program, features prominent speakers who discuss topics involving urban
development and life in significant cities throughout the world.

For more event-related information, please contact Cory Blad,
associate professor of sociology and director of the urban studies
program, by email at cory.blad@manhattan.edu.