Great Cities Lecture Series Welcomes Speakers from Yeditepe University on Oct. 10

Banu Koçer Reisman and Dila Çelik will discuss the recent protest in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Square.

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.

MC Staff