Politics and Popular Culture in Turkey: Literature, TV Series and Film

Go beyond the screen! From award-winning films to global TV hits: uncover the sociopolitical heartbeat of contemporary Turkey through its most powerful stories. An intensive journey into literature, film, and the 'dizi' industry.

Navigation the complexity of contemporary Turkey is a unique challenge. Characterised by intense ideological shifts, economic fluctuations, and a rich tapestry of competing identities, Turkey defies simple labelling. 

This BIP offers a multi-faceted exploration of a society defined by its plurality. It explores Turkish politics and history from the end of the Ottoman Empire to the present, using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates historical, political, feminist, geopolitical, and cultural perspectives through both chronological and thematic methods. 

While standards political science often relies on data, this course looks to the "unseen" narratives found in internationally-praised Turkish literature, cinema, and TV series (dizi). By blending social science with cultural analysis, we address the aspects of Turkish reality that tradition methodologies often overlook.

By the end of the programme, students will gain insight into Turkey's political and social systems via literary and visual works, examining how these structures shape daily Life. Within the BIP's interdisciplinary framework, they will also apply analytical tools from literary studies, film studies, and the cultural and creative industries, developing the skills needed to critically interpret cultural productions central to the course.

Moving beyond traditional lecture formats, this innovative programme provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of Turkish social and political life as articulated through its most significant cultural and media narratives.

• Trends and themes in contemporary Turkish literature, film and TV series narratives
• Social identities in Turkish literature, film and TV series narratives
• The sociopolitical role and impact of authors, intellectuals, film makers and dizi screen writers
• The formation of state, society and citizen in Turkey
• History and trauma in society, literature, film and TV series narratives
• Turkish nationhood, nationalism and non-Turkish identities
• Ethnic and religious minorities and groups in Turkey
• The role of the army in state formation, society and politics
• Modernizing reforms and democracy in Turkey
• Women and gender issues in Turkey
• Islam versus secularism: Islam and/ in politics
• Political ideologies and political movements in Turkey
• The East-West conflict: the modernization-tradition conflict
• The European/ Europeanized aspect(s) of Turkey
• The politics of language and translation

During the course, the students will:

• develop a comprehensive understanding of Turkish politics and society;
• analyse political and social transformation in Turkey from a multidisciplinary perspective;
• develop a comprehensive understanding of the main currents and themes of contemporary Turkish literature, cinema and TV series;
• explore the links between politics, culture, and identity through literature, cinema, TV and art;
• learning to use literature, film and TV series as a method to understand politics;
• understand the relevance of the political and cultural contexts in which novels, film and TV series are created and received;
• acquire a critical understanding of identify power structures, ideological biases, and the concept of "otherness";
• investigate the role and agency of the individual agent operating within high-stakes political frameworks;
• engage with experts across History, Political Science, Linguistics, Gender, Translation, Film and Television Studies;
• gain methodological tools within a broader European and global context.

The  Physical Mobility Week (28 June-2 July 2027) will be held at the Dipartimento Italiano di Studi Orientali of Sapienza Università di Roma and is scheduled to comprise 34 teaching hours, with morning, noon and afternoon sessions:

• Monday: 6 hours
• Tuesday-Friday: 7 hours/ day

The program will include: paper presentations by students, lectures and seminars by academic instructors/ professors, talks by invited speakers/ experts, working groups on specific topics and film/ TV series episods screenings. 

A welcome reception, a closing event and two field trips (a 'Cinematic Walking Tour of Rome' and a 'Tour of Cinecittà', the historic film studio complex of Rome) will be part of the programme, in order to provide direct engagement with the cultural and cinematic landscapes of the city hosting the BIP. The Marco Polo Library of the Host Department  will be available for study and bibliography search.

The physical part agenda will address topics related to politics, identities, literature, cinema and TV series in Turkey. The topics discussed during the virtual part will be further elaborated, and key themes, novels, films and TV series of significant authors of contemporary Turkey will be discussed in a broader and more interactive way.

The Virtual Part (1 February-17 May 2027) will comprise 12 online sessions (of two teaching hours each - each Monday, 17:00-19:00 CET). Each session/ lecture will be conducted and discussed by one to three professors. The virtual component will additionally have 8 teaching hours devoted to tutorials/ guiding by the professors and oral presentation of papers. Students will have access to supporting material and bibliography, in order to prepare their assignments for the physical part.

Each student will have to choose a combination of literary text and visual materials (movies and/ or TV series) and critical assess them through written papers, presentations and podcasts. Collaborative learning (work groups for learning oriented projects, flipped classrooms, book clubs, roundtables, etc.) will be strongly encouraged. Students will have access to the materials through the CIVIS Moodle platform.

List of the planned lessons:

• 1 February 2027: Introduction to the course, course aims and methodology; a brief outline of Turkish Literature and History in the 20th and 21st century. (Prof. D'Amora, Prof. Gogos, Prof. Lopez Rodriguez, Prof. Rachieru)
• 8 February 2027: Cinema and Society in Turkey: Historical Trajectories and Cultural Shifts (Prof. D’Amora)
• 15 February 2027: Modernity on Screen: The Visual Politics of Kemalism (Prof. Grassi)
• 22 February 2027: Film archives and cultural resistance (Prof. Fonseca)
• 1 March 2027: The Rise of Turkish TV Series: Industry, Audiences, and Global Reach (Prof. D’Amora)
• 8 March 2027:Revisiting the Empire: Politics of Ottoman Representation in Film and TV series (Prof. Rachieru)
• 15 March:2027The Ottoman Empire through the lens of the TV series ‘Muhteşem Yüzyıl’ (Prof. Martykanova)

22-29 March 2027: Catholic Easter break

• 5 April 2027: Between Fiction and reality: consideration about reading women literature (Prof. González)
• 12 April 2027: Women writers in the context of Feminist Struggles in Turkey (Prof. Lopez Rodriguez)
• 19 April 2027: Islamic Movements and Ideas in Turkish Literature (Prof. Gogos)
• 26 April 2027: Leftist identity in Literature, Film and TV series in Turkey (Prof. Bertucelli)

3 May 2027: Orthodox Easter Break

• 10 May 2027: German-Turkish Films and the Language of Socialization (Prof. Batsalia/Prof. Chita)
• 17 May 2027: In-Between Worlds: Language, Memory and Identity in Contemporary German-Turkish Narratives (Prof. Koskinas)

 Workload breakdown and time  allocation:

• 26 hours: online lessons
• 6 hours: online book clubs and two round tables about a film and TV series

Asynchronous activities:

• 24 hours: independent reading and viewing of selected materials for each session;
• 20 hours: reading of one selected book and and viewing of one a movie and/ or TV series episodes; 
• 10 hours: watching and analyzing a film and a TV series;
• 10 hours: preparation for the participation in book clubs and two round tables;
• 30 hours: group work (online group presentations, production of a podcast).

The course combines virtual and in-person assessments to develop both individual and collaborative learning.

• attendance and participation (virtual part) (80% required, worth 10%);
• attendance and participation (physical part) (90% required, worth 10%);
• quizzes on reading assignments (20%);
• teamwork for one online presentation (20%);
• participation in a book club plus roundtables (20%);
•  3–5-minute podcast presentation (20%).

Motivation Letter

Level of english (According to CEFR)

CV

All applications will be evaluatedd based on their CV and the quality and clarity of the motivation letter (max. 500 words).

Friederiki Batsalia is Emeritus Professor of German Linguistics at the Department of German Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens where she has thought and conducted academic research since 1986. Her scientific interests include the areas of Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, Bilingualism and First, Second and Foreign Language  Acquisition, as well as the Theory and Practice of Translation. Her publications on these topics include five monographs, one bilingual German-Greek/Greek-German electronic dictionary and over forty article. She has also been the founder and vic-president of the Greek Society for Translation Studies.

Fulvio Bertuccelli is a Marie Skoldowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sapienza Università di Roma. Fulvio holds a PhD from the University of Naples “L’ Orientale”; he successfully defended his dissertation “Kemalism and Socialism in the Turkish Left (1960-1971)” in July 2013. Among his recent publications are: Il movimento socialista in Turchia (1960-1971). Ideologia e politica tra due colpi di Stato, Aracne, Roma 2023; (co-edited with Mihaela Gavrila and Fabio L. Grassi), Minorities and Diasporas in Turkey. Public images and issues in education Sapienza Università Editrice, Roma 2023. 

Anna Chita is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics/Didactics of German at the Department of German Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research interests concern German as a Foreign/Second Language, Contrastive and Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Communications, Pragmatics and Translation/Mediation and Test Development. She has published articles in national and international journals and she has also worked for many years  in courses promoting the integration of young and adult migrants and refugees in Germany.

Rosita D'Amora is Associate Professor of Turkish Studies at Sapienza Università di Roma. Her research interests range from Ottoman social history to contemporary Turkish literature, addressing issues related to different forms of representation and auto-representation of Ottoman and Turkish society. She is the author of Corso di Lingua Turca (Hoepli, 2012), used as a textbook for learning Turkish in all Italian universities and she is also a translator in Italian of some modern classics of Turkish literature such as Kürk Mantolu Madonna by Sabahattin Ali and Anayurt Oteli by Yusuf Atilgan. More recently, she has co-edited the volume Alaturka/Alafranga. Interazioni culturali tra Turchia ed Europa mediterranea (Marietti1820, 2025). Since 2025 she is teaching an academic course entitled "Turkish cinema, TV series and politics in contemporary Turkey".

Clarisa Danae Fonseca Azuara is Assistant Lecturer (Ayudante Doctora) at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where she ia a member of the research group "Arab Ideologies and Cultural Expressions - IEXCUL". She also belongs to "AlterMagreb: Heterotopias in the Imaginaries Shaping Spain-Marocco Relations", a research group exploring cross-cultural representations and Mediterranean imaginaries. Her research focuses on contemporary Arab Studies, with particular emphasis on the intersections between art, literature and gender in Palestinian contexts. Among her recent publications are: "'I have, because you are my lady, I have a reason to live'": Palestine, woman and mother in resistance poetry (Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos. Sección Árabe-Islam, vol. 73, 2024) and Flags, watermelons, and other fruits: the national symbols of the Palestinian matria, co-authored (Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos, 2024).)

Konstantinos Gogos is Assistant Professor at the Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He teaches undergraduate courses and postgraduate seminars on the Islamist movement in Turkey, Muslims in Europe, Geopolitics of Turkey and the Middle East, and Turkish-Greek translation. His research interests focus on Turkish Islamist intellectuals, Muslims and Islam in Europe, and the relationship between literature and politics. His latest book is: Reading Turkish Islamist Writers: Kısakürek, Bulaç, Dilipak (Peter Lang, 2020).

Ana González Navarro is Assistant Lecturer (Profesora Ayudante Doctora) at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She has been a Marie Skoldowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at Sapienza Università di Roma. She currently also collaborates on research projects at UAM and the Universidad de Sevilla. Her research interests focus on Moroccan contemporary literature from a postcolonial perspective and on cultural expressions by women and feminist discourses in Arab contexts. Her latest publications include: "From Khanata Bennouna to Leila Slimani: Moroccan Women Writers from the Margins to World Literature" (2019, with Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla), "Moroccan Women Critics in the Wilderness. New Tools for Literary Criticism?" (2021) and "Between the cult for femininity claims: women's journals in Morocco in the second half of the 20th century" (2024).

Fabio L. Grassi is Associate Professor of History of International Relations at Sapienza Università di Roma in the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art History, Media and Performing Arts). He is also Scientific Counselor of the Turkey Desk Project; Counselor for Iranian and Turkic Countries. He is the author of more than 100 publications. Among them are: Atatürk. Il fondatore della Turchia moderna [Atatürk. The founder of Modern Turkey], Roma, Salerno, 2008, new edition 2020; A New Homeland. The massacre of the Circassians, their Exodus to the Ottoman Empire, their place in modern Turkey, Istanbul Aydın University Publications, 2018.   

Nikolaos-Ioannis Koskinas is Associate Professor of German Literature at the Department of German Language and Literature, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His research focuses on 20th- and 21st-century German Literature, intermediality between literary, theatrical and cinematic forms, memory cultures and postmigrant literatures. In his publications he has explored in depth the connections between literary texts and visual storytelling. His most recent monograph, Kafka and Cinema: The "Cinematic Kafka" explores intermedial cinematic reference in Franz Kafka's work.

Darina Martykanova is Associate Professor at the Department of Modern History at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She graduated in Turcology - History and Culture of Islamic Countries of the Charles University, Prague. She worked at the University of Potsdam, Germany, and at the Centre d' études turques, ottomanes, balkaniques et centrasiatiques (CETOBaC) of the EHESS, Paris. Darina is author of Reconstructing Ottoman Engineers. Archaeology of a Profession (1789-1914), Pisa 2010, and several publications on the transnational dimensions of Ottoman history of science and technology.

Silvana Rachieru is Associate Professor at the Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, and Director of the Center for Turkish Studies. She holds a PhD in History (2010, UB); MA in History (1998, Central European University Budapest). She is a Historian of the Ottoman Empire, with expertise in modern social and diplomatic history. Silvana has served at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Istanbul (as project coordinator, deputy director, director / 2006-2015). She is the author of Ottoman Diplomats and Subjects in the Old Kingdom. Ottoman-Romanian Relations between 1878-1908 (Romanian, Iasi, 2018), and has published articles on Romanian-Ottoman diplomatic relations after 1878, the Ottoman perspective on the modernization of Romania and modern gender history.

Carmen Rodríguez López is Associate Professor at the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She holds a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the Complutense University of Madrid and a PhD in Mediterranean International Studies from the UAM. She is co-director of the research groups at UAM "Taller de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos". Her main line of research include Turkish Studies in the areas od democratization, party system, critical geopolitics, foreign policy and gender. Among her most rec are focused on Turkey´s domestic and foreign policy. She has published numerous articles in academic journal and book chapters. She is the author of the book Turquía, la apuesta por Europa (Catarata, 2007) and co-editor of the books: Turkish Democratization Process (Routledge, 2014) and  Homenaje a Soliman Salom, Tierra sin nosotros (Isis, 2024).

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe.

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