This course seeks to discuss and explore a series of much-debated issues surrounding the theory, production, exhibition, critique, management and exchange of contemporary art. What relevance does contemporary art have in an increasingly globalized world? What kind of knowledge production does contemporary art involve? In what ways can contemporary art challenge our concepts of the individual and society?

Issues in Cultural Management is an introductory course for Cultural Management Graduate Program and its topic. Course aims at presenting cultural management in its all form in public and private sector, and it follows on the base of concepts, models and suggestions. It discusses the expected knowledge that a cultural manager and entrepreneur should have in a theoretical framework of cultural industries and management in a critical and analytical framework. Furthermore, this course expects students to develop innovative and creative suggestions and turn them into an article with the knowledge they would gain during the classes. Contemporary actors of cultural scene of Turkey and abroad will be hosted as guests during the course.

In this course we shall examine the challenges that globalisation introduces for cultural policy. With transnational flows of culture and cultural encounters national identities imagined as homogeneous entities are being challenged. Culture is disentangled from its local moorings. Culture is now very much product of global networks and global cultural industries. As cultural products are being incorporated into global operations through globalised culture conglomerates the disembedding of culture from place enhances. Another dynamic of course is the growing salience of cities in the global economy as places where all the contradictions and dynamics are being confronted. Cities have become active agents in the global economy using cultural strategies to attract investment and build desirable image for themselves. We shall be examining globalisation and the city; culture-led revitalisation strategies; cultural industries and globalisation; identity and globalisation; and globalisation, multiculturalsim and transnational citizenship.

This course aims to provide a theoretical background on the main schools of thought shaping the intellectual landscape of the 20th century (Western) society and culture. Since our scope is overwhelmingly large, it will be most helpful to structure the course under major themes – constantly bearing in mind the mutual relations, responses, continuities and discontinuities between them. The course begins with Western Marxism and its reflections on critical theory; culture industry and aesthetics. After a brief look into existentialist humanism, we will survey the groundbreaking approach of structuralism – ushered by the work of Ferdinand de Saussure. We will see structuralism challenged by post-structuralism. Having spent some time on the works of the leading intellectual giants of the century such as Foucault and Derrida, we will end the course by a brief study on post-modernism.

Identity, Memory and Culture

This course is a core interdisciplinary MA module that focuses on the various dimensions of Türkiye and EU relations, including democracy, foreign policy, economy, the customs union, environmental policy, immigration, public opinion, and identity from the lenses of contemporary theoretical debates on European integration. The course will introduce the students to the literature on the diffusion of norms in world politics and the EU’s role in conceptualising and disseminating norms. In terms of the conceptual framework of the course, regarding each theme, the aim will be to understand firstly, how norms are constructed on the European Union level – the source of diffusion; secondly, how the diffusion process occurs; thirdly, who the agents of the diffusion process are; and finally, how the agents translate the norms into the national level. In other words, within the framework of the seminars each week, how the norms from the EU are diffused and adopted at the national level will be discussed. The course is being offered as part of the Jean Monnet Chair of the Erasmus+ Programme “BILGINormsEU: JM Chair on Norms and TR-EU Relations”, funded by the European Union. Dr Özge Onursal-Beşgül will carry out her duty as Jean Monnet Chair, a post entrusted to those faculty members who have expertise in European Union studies within the framework of the Erasmus+ program, between March 1, 2022-February 28, 2025.

This course aims to analyze and discuss the meaning and function of the different forms of social organizations which are dealing with to protect and promote of human rights. Today, the activities which are called as ‘activism’ and realized by society organizations or NGOs have an important role in parallel with the traditionally established remedies with having an impact even over those remedies to transform their characteristics. In this context, an activism study with such priorities, it is crucially important to discuss the conceptual framework which is mainly based on the post-war social thought. So, this course gives an opportunity to the students to present and share their educational background with others and accelerates the interdisiciplinary output. New social movements, post-colonialist rights discourse, human rights – civil rights discussion, “regarding the pain of others” (Susan Sontag), activism and philanthropy, are among the topics which will be discussed in this course.

Human Rights Activism – II could be taken after completing the course LAW 517 (Human Rights Activism – I) or separately. This course aims analyzing and discussing the living human rights activism, a way of political and social opposition, not through the interpretation of legal instruments but through the activities, initiatives, campaigns, etc., briefly considering the real activism, occurred in the city of İstanbul mainly and in Turkey or in the world. In this framework what tried to be seen is the discourse and methods through which the human rights activism carries out for the empowerment of rights. In this context, understanding the social, political and cultural environment of rights activism and discussing the innovation and dynamism in varying tools and methods developed in activist movements is another aim of the course. Dealing with the past, strategy and tactics in human rights activism, tactical analysis, tactical mapping exercise, effect of artistic expression over activist discourse will be some titles which will be discussed throughout the course. The course also covers off-campus visits and guest speakers.

This course will be given blended (online and face to face). The aim of this course is to examine the theoretical and legal basis of anti-discrimination and principle of equality and trace the evolution of these concepts in international human rights law and Turkish law. At the end of the semester, the students will have a thorough understanding of the causes and different manifestations of discrimination. This will enable the students to identify discriminatory treatments prohibited by law.

Legal developments relating to the protection of human rights are not limited to the activities of persons who act on behalf of governmental authorities. It is possible to encounter cases between private persons which may be defined as human rights violations and the law should also function in this area. So, the legal discipline, “human rights law”, should consider this fact. The course “Human Rights in the Business World” aims to discuss the international legal standards on protecting human rights in establishing, managing or ending business relations with special reference to existent cases at the national or transnational level. In this course, the effects of globalization on national and international business relations will also be discussed in the light of the existent or developing international human rights norms. In this framework, the in-house relations of a corporation will also be covered. The investment conditions and local or transnational effects of the activities of corporations toward people or the environment will be discussed in the same context.

The aim of this course is to analyze the rules of international law applicable to international and non-international armed conflicts. In this regard, criteria used to classify armed conflicts, law applicable to different types of armed conflicts, groups of persons specially protected under the humanitarian law, places which cannot be targeted in armed conflicts and restrictions on the weapons and methods which can be used in armed conflicts will be explored.

Stories, one of the oldest tools used to influence the target audience, are a communication method used not only by individuals, states or companies, but also by illegal organizations. As strategic communication experts emphasize, “narrative” has the power to influence the most important dimension of the information environment: hearts and minds. An effective narrative depends on the use of appropriate storytelling techniques. The aim of this course is to introduce the basic principles of storytelling and to teach how to tell brand stories based on target audience analysis within the scope of marketing communication.

Cyber anthropology/ Digital anthropology is a sub branch of sociocultural anthropology. It deals with cybernetic systems, virtual communities, cultures of technology, the computer underground, techno-mysticism and similar concepts that involve culturally informed interrelationships between human beings and digital technologies. This course provides an overview of these major concepts and discusses methodologies for digital ethnographies such as researching online relationships, designing internet behavior research, online interviewing and research relationship, ethnographic presence in cyber settings, and web sphere analysis within anthropological boundaries.

This course aims to study perhaps the most important question of our times: Can democracy survive the onslaughts of the digital deluge? This major phenomenon is affecting all aspects of social life although here our main focus will be the realm of politics. Clearly the old media which was the main source of political news and information have been overtaken by the new digital means of communication. Do the old rules still apply? If not, what are the new rules? Who is supposed to make them? Have basic assumptions underlying the freedom of expression such as ‘rational humans’ and ‘free and open marketplace of ideas’ lost their relevance? How do we cope with new consequences like disinformation, misinformation, permanent noise and post-truth era? How are we, here in Turkey, being affected by these changes? What are our solutions? This course will tackle these questions.

The course is aimed at to develop and to design a project proposal to be submitted to international funding especially to EU, in the form of grants or loans. The course will be a combination of theoretical and and practical exercises based on Project Cycle Management and Logical Framework Analysis. Every step will be analyzed, discussed iand created in working groups.

This course introduces students to social scientific research methods with a special focus on civil society studies. The course starts with scholarly debates on methodologies in social sciences. Following the methodological debates in social sciences, the course equips students to formulate sound research questions. Following this, the course offers students a comprehensive tool kit for research in civil society studies. The course addresses both qualitative and quantitative methods. Students are expected to acquire basic theoretical as well as practical knowledge on both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

This course aims to develop a critical perspective on the concept of volunteering and on the cooperation of the volunteers.

Sosyal etkiyi anlamak artık sadece sivil toplum kuruluşları tarafından değil, kamu sektörü, özel sektör ve işletmeler tarafından da benimsenen bir değer haline gelmiştir. Hesap verebilirliğin ve mali şeffaflığın yanı sıra sosyal etkinin analiz edilmesini de gerektirmektedir. Eylemlerimizin etkisini bilmek için müdahalelerimizin olumlu ve olumsuz etkilerini de ölçebilmemiz gerekir. Bu konuda veri sahibi olmak sosyal etkiyi yönetmemize olanak verecektir. Bu ders öğrencilere sosyal etki değerlendirmesi ve analizi konusunda bilgi ve beceri kazandırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Dersin temel amacı, öğrencilerin etki odaklı düşünmelerini, etki odaklı proje tasarlamalarını ve etki ölçümlemede kullanılan araştırma ve analiz yöntemlerini öğrenmelerini sağlamaktır. Ders boyunca öğrenciler, değişim teorisi oluşturma, sosyal değer ve sosyal etki kavramlarını inceleme, sosyal etki standartlarını tartışma, etki değerlendirmede kullanılan temel araştırma yöntemlerini bilme, veri toplama planı oluşturma ve verileri yorumlama konularında uygulamalı olarak çalışacaklardır.

This course aims to transfer advanced knowledge about disasters and emergencies. In particular, it is aimed to develop competencies related to the prevention of possible damages, risk analysis and risk reduction processes in disasters and emergencies. The main missions of large organizations, both locally and internationally, are to provide emergency humanitarian aid in these situations and to ensure that crises are minimized. Within the scope of this course, firstly, the cycle of disaster management will be examined in detail with an emphasis on pre-disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Then, disaster response, emergency relief, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction will be discussed. The whole cycle, especially risk analysis and risk reduction, will be deepened based on experienced examples. The structures and working styles of organizations responding to humanitarian crises such as natural or man-made disasters and migration will be examined and effective response, risk management and post-crisis work in such situations will be examined through interactive methods such as guests, case studies, field work, simulation.

Theories and strategies on discrimination

This graduate course aims to cover core concepts, theories, and research in major areas of social psychology, with an emphasis on the functioning of individuals and social systems in work-related settings. At the end of the course, students are expected (1) to have a solid understanding of the most important areas of inquiry within social psychology of organizations and the overlaps and differences between these areas. In addition, for each area, students should (2) have a good understanding of the most important recent empirical and theoretical advances and some of the debates surrounding these developments; and (3) commonly used methods of empirical investigation and their strengths and weaknesses. As more general goals, each student is also expected (4) to become a more critical consumer of social psychological knowledge with a keen eye on how such knowledge could be applied to organizational problems, and to (5) improve other academic skills such as generating novel research questions and the written and oral communication of scientific ideas and research findings. A particularly challenging aspect of the course concerns (6) increasing your ability to relate and integrate the individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis.

The purpose of this course is to explore emotions in the workplace. Emotions are at the core of our development, experience, and self-perception. We often think of the workplace as somehow separate from our emotional experience, and yet, we are the same people at work that we are in our lives. How can we contemplate the role of our emotional lives in our work experiences? How do emotions affect the organization, and visa-versa? How do extreme emotions—particularly stress and violence—impact organizations? And finally, can we use a clinical approach to emotions when looking at the interplay between work and emotional life? We will explore some of these topics by examining key articles in the field, and we will integrate what we learn with what we already know about ourselves, our workplaces, and the field.

The course expects graduate students to complete a project consisting of (a) designing a development-center assessment tool (i.e., psychometric test, a role-play, in basket-exercise or behavioral interview), (b) the application of the assessment tool to a sample of individuals (at least one participant) and the interpretation/analysis of the assessment, and (c) the design of a training program to achieve a positive organizational change. A key component of tool development will include identifying core competencies and behavioral indicators.

The objective of this course is to critically examine the definitions given to the notions of reason and rationality, and the ways in which these definitions influenced social sciences socail and political thought. Readings will include Descartes, Kant, Weber, Durkheim, Adorno, Horkheimer, and Foucault.

Social Media has become a central part of Global Communications in addition to already growing consumption at citizens’ daily lives. The course aims to outline the current dynamics and flows of global communications with an emphasis on the role of social media. The course intends to provide major nodes in social media production and their connection to global communicational flows. In doing this, locally differentiated media and internet based productions will be focused on. This survey will then lead to practical discussions to experiment with the social media as PR professionals to shape the ongoing communications structures.

Tarihsel perspektifte etik ve sorumluluk kavramları, etik kuramlar ve gerçek yaşam pratikleriyle olan bağlantısı, sürdürülebilirlik ve işletme pratikleri, kurumsal vatandaşlık, paydaşlar, sürdürülebilirlik odaklı kurumsal strateji, ekonomik/sosyal/çevresel etki, raporlama ve denetim, uluslararası belgeler ve standartlar.

This course aims to cover political communication both theoretically and industry-wise. Political communication is a vital part of representative political systems. It may appear sociologically in everyday life settings between politicians and citizens. It may also appear as an industry on which political parties increasingly rely. Moreover with the emergence of new media technologies, there are even more ways of political communication ways to focus on.