The University of Utah, in conjunction with the Turkish Historical Society, will be hosting the conference - War & Independence: Trauma, Memory, and Modernity in the Young Turkish Republic (1908-1950) on January 24-25, 2020. This two-day event will be filled with distinguished scholars and speakers from the United States, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.
The conference will be led by Dr. Hakan Yavuz and is a part of TCA's Turkish Studies Project. The Turkish Studies Project has four purposes. (1) Educate a new generation of scholars who are sensitive to the history, culture of Turkey. (2) Build a new bridge between Turkish universities and The University of Utah through faculty and student exchange programs. (3) Continue publishing books on Turkey and Turkish history for the general public. (4) Carry out adult education through an outreach program geared toward teachers and the Turkish diaspora.
The project supports a series of conferences, books, lectures, and articles to decipher Orientalism and the dehumanization of the Turks in the Balkans and Caucasus by focusing on Russia’s role, especially in the intellectual domain. The project also assists interested parties, the general public, and stakeholders in exploring the past and shaping contemporary Turkic-majority states and their relationships with modern Turkey via scholarly work, community participation, social media, and support for new research.