A Conference jointly organized by Goethe Institute and YTU, Center for Global Studies
10-12 September 2009, Yildiz Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey
We are pleased to announce the jointly organized Conference of Yildiz Technical University, Center for Global Studies and Goethe Institute, titled “Germany and Turkey in Interaction: Historical and Crosscultural Perspectives on Religious Identities and Institutions.”
The conference aims to identify the mutual influences between the two countries specifically in the area of discourses regarding the place of religion in the national identity and imagery, and the tensions between the institutions that regulate religious life and those that regulate secular citizenship.
The first part of the Conference will aim to develop a historical perspective in mapping out the role of religion in the contested process of state and nation building in both Turkey and Germany. The second part will focus on the contemporary institutional structures and processes that create, regulate, differentiate, and repress religious identities.
Although the conference has a comparative framework, individual papers should not necessarily strive to include a discussion of both countries, as long as the paper addresses one of the conference themes.
