LSE, London 5th Dec Dr. Gul Berna Ozcan talk

You are warmly invited to the public seminar organized by LSE Contemporary Turkish Studies on Monday, 5th December 2011, in which Dr. Gul Berna Ozcan, will give a talk on “Economic Liberalisation, Class Dynamics and New Business Groups in Turkey”. 

This event will take place from 6pm to 7:45pm at the room COW1.11, Canada Blanch Room, First Floor, Cowdray House, LSE. 

Gul Berna Ozcan is Reader in International Business and Entrepreneurship at the School of Management Royal Holloway, University of London. She earned her PhD in Economic Geography from LSE.  She has also been teaching for the Gurukul Global Leadership Programme at LSE (since 2005).  Dr. Ozcan is the author of several books and numerous articles on enterprise development in post-Soviet Central Asia, the political economy of Turkey, local economic development and small and medium-sized enterprises, capital formations, entrepreneurship, and morality and business. 

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Those who might be interested are all welcome. Please find below a short abstract of the talk and also attached a detailed advert of the event as a PDF document.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
With many thanks,
Umit Sonmez
Research Officer: Turkey and European Union
Contemporary Turkish Studies
European Institute
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street WC2A 2AE
London, United Kingdom
E-mail: u.sonmez@lse.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7955 6067
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7955 7546
Please consider the environment before you print this e-mail

LSE Contemporary Turkish Studies Research SeminarMONDAY, 5 DECEMBER 2011
18.00-19:45

Venue: COW1.11, First Floor, Cowdray House, LSE

“Economic Liberalisation, Class Dynamics and New Business Groups in Turkey”

Speaker: Dr. Gul Berna Ozcan                        Chair: Professor Sevket Pamuk

The growth of new capitalist classes transformed social stratification, multi-party politics and the international political orientation of Turkey since the 1980s.  New business groups energized by Islam have facilitated much needed class mobility. In this process, there also emerged a confrontational split in middle class positions between Islamic versus secular political outlooks. These new middle classes are engaged in promoting Islam as a strategic resource in the class politics and seek protection from the negative effects of market capitalism. More dramatically, these groups redefined the allocation of markets and the distribution of assets while they expanded opportunities for their affiliated groups at home and in foreign markets.  However, the paradox between modernity and authenticity remains unresolved for Turkey’s old middle classes and the new pious elite alike.  Turkey’s changing domestic and international standing is moving towards multiple identity formations.  Although new Islamic leaning business groups have become the winners of the new regime, they have increasingly lost their cutting edge idealism and originality. They are being “normalized” as the new establishment.

Call for Papers 18th Feb 2012 SOAS, London

2nd Annual Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Eurasia Research Conference (London)

CALL FOR PAPERS

New Research on Central Asia and Caucasus (NRCAC) and The Eurasia Studies Society (TESS).

Venue: School of Oriental and African Studies, Russell Square, London. Saturday 18^th February 2012.

Convenors: Gaigysyz Jorayev or Sevket Akyildiz: eurasiasocietyuk@gmail.com (Submission deadline is 30th December 2011).

The first graduate Eurasia research conference in February 2010 at SOAS (London) was attended by graduate students and academics from the UK and Europe. The event covered the following fields: culture, society, economics and natural resources. Upon this success we formed The Eurasian Studies Society (http://eurasiasociety.wordpress.com ) and plan to hold a series of annual conferences to enable students and scholars to share their research interests and network. The event is jointly organised by two new societies New Research on Central Asia and Caucasus (NRCAC) based at UCL, London and The Eurasia Studies Society (TESS), University of London. There will be three broad themes: i) culture and society, ii) economics and politics, iii) environment and resource management. We welcome papers from postgraduate students, post-doctorate researchers, independent researchers and journalists. Each presentation will be for 20 minutes in any one of the themes listed below. Pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet themes are all welcome.

Culture and Society: Ethnic minorities, human rights, citizenship, women's issues, identity & nationhood; the modern media, literature, music, sport (folk and modern), & folk culture; historical, anthropological, & Islamic studies; medieval & modern history; architecture.

Economic & Politics: Business and market developments; economic transition; International politics and Eurasia.

Environment and Resource Management: Environmental problems, climate change & water issues; natural resources and energy issues; international interests in the region's resources.

Submission details: Papers considered for selection will need to include: (1) Name of the presenter (2) Academic position and institutional affiliation (3) Title of the paper (4) Abstract of no more than 300 words (5) Audio-visual equipment needs. Unfortunately we will not be able to provide any financial aid to participants this year. A fee of £10 Sterling will be charged for registration and to cover costs and refreshments. Any questions can be forwarded to either Gaigysyz Jorayev or Sevket Akyildiz: eurasiasocietyuk@gmail.com (Submission deadline is 30th December 2011).

We will also accept one submission 20 minute (max) pre-recorded video presentation (in MPEG, Windows Player, etc format) from a student or researcher resident within the Caucasus or Central Asia region. If they wish, members of the audience can then contact the presenter through email and ask relevant questions and make observations after the conference.

Gender and Central Asia Conference Paris June 2012

Conference – Workshop

Gender in Central Asia: Contemporary issues in nation-building of former Soviet States

 

Venue : Réseau Asie – Pacifique / Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme

190, avenue de France – 75013 Paris

 

4 June 2012

 

 

Suppoted by: Réseau Asie-Pacifique (CNRS - FMSH) / UMR Mondes Indien – Iranien (CNRS) / Centre d’Etudes, de Documentation et de Recherches en Etudes Féministes (CEDREF – Université Paris-Diderot) / Institut Français d’Etudes sur l’Asie Centrale (IFEAC).

During the last twenty years, the Republics born from the breakup of the Soviet Union have been experiencing new political, social and economic configurations. The creation of these Nation States took place in conjunction with their entry into the market economy and the establishment of new diplomatic and economic partnerships (Europe, USA, Iran, Turkey, China, etc.). This was translated by reconfigurations of elites, a new attitude to religions and history, new dynamics of migration and a diversification of political actors (international institutions, foreign NGOs and local associations). In France, socio-anthropological, historical, economic and political research on these countries focused on different themes: Russian-Soviet legacies, religious and identity reconfigurations (B. Balci; M. Laruelle and S. Peyrouse; C. Poujol; Y. Rytkhéou; T. Zarcone), State and internal policy related changes (I. Dichev; I. Ohayon; A. Thircuir; J. Thorez; S. Tordjman), economic crisis, reconstitutions of solidarity groups and political and cultural sociability (S. Dudoignon; B. Petric; O. Roy; A. Zevaco), new geopolitical context (M. Djalili; O. Roy), the NGOization phenomenon (N. Guilhot; B. Hours and M. Sélim; A. Moscaritolo; B. Petric).

The reconfiguration of gender relations is, in fact, cross-disciplinary. Research on gender issues in Central Asia published in English focuses on attitudes to religion (A. Chenoy; M. Kamp; R. Sultanova), family reconfiguration (C. Harris; M.E. Hegland), labor market changes (E. Faezullaeva; N. Kanji; K. Kuehnast), women's participation in politics and non-profit sphere (D. Kandiyoti; N. Tohidi; Z. Tursunova and N. Azizova), State and nation-building (N. Megoran) and migrations (U. Hashimova). Some works in French have been considering women’s and gender issues in Central Asia since recently (S. Atlani-Duault; L. Bazin; L. Direnberger; A. Ducloux; H. Fathi; S. Hohmann; A. Jarry-Omarova; M. Sélim; S. Tadjbakhsh).

This conference-workshop aims to pursue this reflection, focusing on the power relations between men and women in the context of national reconfigurations. In the wake of research on the theme of "gender and nation" (E. Gapova; R. Ivekovic; D. Kandiyoti; J. Nagel; N. Yuval-Davis), we intend to analyze how ethno-national histories contribute to the production of gender representations. We would also like to explore the interconnection between "gender and nation" in the context of international gender policy and norms transfer. The purpose is to address social practices and political institutions from gender perspective: States and public policies; nations and nationalisms; women's and LGBT collective mobilization; masculinities and the construction of power; new economies and their impact on women, etc. Gender (and male dominance) is thus in the intersection of social class and race relations (E. Dorlin; D. Kergoat). We would like to put an accent on the combination of these power relations and their impact on society and nation-building projects in these countries. Papers are therefore expected from all social science disciplines focusing on Central Asia and, in favor of a comparative approach, more largely on the countries concerned by a post-colonial relation with "Moscow": Republics of Siberia, the Baltic countries, Caucasus, Central and Eastern Europe. 

Three main themes will structure proposals, without being exclusive.

 

1.     Representations on gender relations

Soviet domination framed citizens and "ethnic" identities, constructing a specific ideology of gender, strictly embedded and thought of in terms of the "Soviet class". Nowadays, how have independent governments restructured these power relations? What are new femininities and masculinities? To what extent can we speak of a break with the image of the "Soviet woman and man"? How are these representations involved in the shaping of national identities? One of the main targets of this workshop is to analyze the discursive and ideological output of different social actors on "women's rights" and on the place of women in contemporary society: political elites, religious protagonists, international partners, as well as local non-governmental actors.

At the same time, the signature of international treaties on women's rights allowed various Central Asia governments to enter the international arena, forcing them to accept the presence of international development programs promoting the concept of gender. How have they appropriated this new order of equality between men and women? What laws and public policies have been implemented and what specific roles have been attributed to men and women in order to reconfigure or maintain the state of gender relations? Foreign influence is also present in several other areas: media, Internet, cinema (and TV production). It can also be observed in more institutionalized way in private Koranic Turkish or American evangelical schools, or through experiences of migrants to the United States, Russia, China and Europe. In regards to these new practices, we would like to analyze new representations of family relations, sexuality, motherhood, and the way that various discourses recompose these new identities. 

2.     Participation of women in economic, educational and cultural areas

Perestroika was followed by a liberalization of the economy that caused an economic and social earthquake rarely analyzed in terms of its impact on gender relations. In fact, women did not remain "passive" and had to adapt to this "new deal". In this field of study, papers are expected to analyze the current activity of women in major social institutions in such areas as economy, education, culture, but also health, recreation, and others. What different strategies do these women implement (social networks, social capital, etc.)? What obstacles do they face (generation discrimination, professional segregation, time devoted to domestic duties, etc.)?

 

3.     Political mobilizations

With the adoption of democratic Constitutions, the Women's Committee, a single-sex recognized space for collective action dependent on the Party, has disintegrated, and the number of elected and active women in the new democratic political institutions has notoriously declined. However, women forming a part of the intellectual and social elites have not "disappeared" from these societies. In addition, democratization has been accompanied by the opening, at least in principle, of public space to associations independent from political authorities. What roles have these women played in the process of national reconstruction and at what kind of structures: institutional policy, ruling elites, associations, media? What referents do they use: mother, wife, intellectual, member of a party, member of a community or another identity group, religion or social class? We would like to discuss their political experiences, activism resources, electoral support and their political programs. In what context and for what reason can gender identity become a political resource? What obstacles do these women face?

Finally, what about feminist reflections and actions in Central Asia and in other post-Soviet societies today? Scientific research does not refer to it: is this to say that there is no feminist movement, nor any group of women (associations, neighborhood groups, networks of intellectuals) which points out inequalities between men and women and claims for equality? How does this kind of activism differ, according to the different social contexts of each country and the resources that women can use or not? Then, considering that "gender" is now a mandatory aspect of development programs carried by international organizations, we would like to discuss the relationship between women activists, their foreign partners and governments.

 

Proposals are to be sent - in English or French - before Monday, January 15,2012 in the form of a summary of 1000 words or less to the organizers: