| September 27, 2007 Lesson Five: For the best information go straight to the source After twenty days in Istanbul—five touring Western Anatolia and fourteen in orientation—September 18 finally arrived. The day that classes started was bittersweet. The past five weeks were like an extended vacation, where I explored modern and ancient Turkey; I did not have any academic obligations besides a daily journal and Turkish class in Istanbul. I was able to take weekend trips to exotic Mediterranean locations or relax with friends on campus without the stress of school work. Now I have academic responsibilities, but being the nerd I am, I was excited to return to the familiar routine of classes and homework. Although my anticipated major at Centre is mathematics, I'm fascinated by the interrelations of culture, religion and politics in the Middle East. This is one of the reasons I flew halfway across the world to study in Turkey. Furthermore, I wanted new perspectives on political issues and anticipated interactions with Turkish professors and students that would broaden my understanding of Middle Eastern and world politics. Based on these desires and what I seek to gain this semester, I'm taking War, Peace and Security, State and Society of Israel, and Basic Arabic I.
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War, Peace and Security is an awesome class! Professor Bilgin’s teaching style is similar to many Centre professors’, where she mixes lectures and seminars. We have readings from various sources about the week’s topic and spend class discussing the authors’ perspectives about issues like globalization, terrorism, international peacekeeping, just and unjust wars and militarism. |
