This course was developed by Adem Yeşilyurt, who is a PhD candidate at EHESS, based in France.
This course is designed for first- and second-year undergraduate students or students who are new to sociological studies on Turkey. First, students are introduced to social movement theories and the new social movements approach. Then, students engage with perspectives from new media studies and generation theories to analyze how these factors influence the participation in, representation of, and activity repertoire of social movements. This short theoretical introduction is followed by weekly case studies of social movements in Turkey. Starting with the labor movement and the ’68 movement, students learn about the human rights, feminist, LGBTI+, urban, and ecological movements. The course closes with an analysis of the Gezi protests and emerging movements, including white collar organizations, the politics of the commons, and solidarity academies. Students acquire an understanding of different social movement theories and gain knowledge about the historical trajectories and current state of a variety of social movements in Turkey. Video podcasts profiling interviews with scholars, experts, human rights defenders, and activists give students the opportunity to acquire further insights into how social movements function. Online interactive learning activities, presentations, self-assessment tools, and other digital content have been created specifically for this course.
All course videos (in Turkish) can be accessed here.
Course Modules:
1. Introduction to Social Movements: Theory and History (2 Weeks)
2. Understanding Social Movements in Turkey (in 21th Century) (2 Weeks)
3. Social Movements in Turkey (I) – 4 Weeks
3.1. Labor and Syndical Movement
3.2. ‘68 Movement
3.3. Human Rights Movement
3.4. Feminist Movement
4. Social Movements in Turkey (II) – 4 Weeks
4.1. LGBTI Movement
4.2. Urban Social Movements
4.3. Ecological Movement
4.4. Gezi Revolt