The History and Culture of Turkey (A non-credit personal development course offered Spring 2010 at Rice University)

 The only country to lie in both Europe and Asia and one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world, Turkey is a rich amalgamation of cultures with a riveting history. In a sweeping survey of this history, from antiquity to the Ottoman Empire, Atatürk and on to modern times, participants will explore some of the major components of Turkish identity as well as a number of linguistic, cultural, religious and political traditions in their historical context. Lectures on Turkish history will be complemented with a look at significant forms of Turkish culture, including the traditional arts of calligraphy and ebru, Nasreddin Hoca stories, Bursa's shadow puppet theater, Rumi poems, architectural masterpieces of the Seljuk and Ottoman Empires, Turkish music and more.

Instructor: Jeannette S. Okur, PhD, an active member of Houston's Turkish-American community, teaches Turkish at the University of Houston. Her published work includes topics which address literary and cultural analysis, translation theory, teaching methodology and socio-religious history. Dr. Okur is currently working on a translation of Mustafa Kutlu's book of short stories "Sır" and several chapters of a book about transnational socio-religious phenomena originating in Turkey. She holds a PhD in comparative literature from Ankara University in Turkey. A discussion of Ottoman history will be presented by Timothy Fitzpatrick, PhD, visiting professor in history at Rice University.

 Dates: Eight Tuesdays, February 16-April 20, 7:00-9:00 p.m. (no class March 16 and 30)

 Location: Rice University

 Fee: $155, if registering by February 2; $165, after February 2; $145, Rice alumni

 Co-sponsors: Raindrop Turkish House and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog

 For more information and to register online, visit gscs.rice.edu or call 713-348-4803