Watch a short video about Istanbul from Fast:Track on the BBC News channel here.

Every year a city is chosen by the European Union for a period of one calendar year and announced as the European Capital of Culture. For 2010 Istanbul was designated as one of the cultural capitals of Europe. For many centuries Istanbul had been a capital city for different imperial powers, Byzantine and Ottoman and it retains the traces of those past civilizations in Istanbul. This historically and culturally rich city has a natural beauty that is unique. Istanbul is the only city that connects two continents, united by the Bosphorus.

In this course Istanbul will be examined with all the aspects in the historical trajectory within its multicultural setting. Istanbul’s population has faced many wars, domestic conflicts, ethno-religious clashes in every period, while also being a remarkable example of co-existence. This course will look at the issues that have forcefully been forgotten in order to uproot them. Art and architecture of Istanbul will be among our topics. We will read primary and secondary documents, books, novels, articles, watch movies and documentaries, and listen to music from Istanbul about Istanbul.

Please see a flyer of this course here.

Sezen Aksu – Istanbul Istanbul olali

Welcome to Turkish 203, an intermediate course in Turkish. Turkish 203 is the third in a series of Turkish language courses offered at UNC. Turkish 102 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for this course. Any student who has not completed Turkish 102 at UNC should contact the instructor for a placement exam. The course will be proficiency based, covering all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). I will place considerable emphasis on active use of the language both in class and in daily homework assignments.

The goals of the course include increasing knowledge of vocabulary, facility with grammar, and improving written and verbal communication. Students will furthermore survey examples of contemporary Turkish film, literature, music, and current newspapers. By the end of the semester, students can expect to know most of the basic grammar of the language. Students will be able to read and understand authentic texts using the vocabulary and structures gained through first two semesters of Turkish.

Please see a flyer of this course here.

This Introduction to Turkish (Türkçe) is designed for students who have no or very little prior experience in the language. In this course, Turkish is taught with an emphasis on the four important aspects of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A multi-skill approach will be adopted in teaching.

The course will place equal emphasis on the training of standard pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary development. For speaking purposes, functional and communicative features are adopted in teaching. Grammar will gradually move from simple to more complex elements. Students in this class will learn the Turkish language through understanding the cultural aspects of its use in daily life. Modern language teaching techniques, such as multimedia, are adopted for this class.

Please see a flyer for this course here.

I will be offering two Turkish Language Courses at Fall 2010:

• TURK 101 – Turkish Language for Beginners and
• TURK 203 –  Intermediate Turkish Language

Both of these classes are MTWR, 101 at 10 am and 203 at 11 am, both in Campus Y 207.