Program Description

This three week University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty-led international seminar titled Women and Work in Turkey provides students the opportunity to learn first-hand about the myths and realities of women and work in Turkey, a Muslim society and democratic, secular republic. Izmir, Turkey, the country’s third largest city and a major Aegean port, provides an ideal location for studying contemporary Turkish society. Located in an idyllic setting on the western edge of Anatolia, Izmir “the Pearl of the Aegean” enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate and provides visitors with easy access to some of the most beautiful beaches on the Aegean coast, including Cesme, the most popular coastal resort in Turkey. Known as the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Homer, Izmir also offers visitors a rich variety of cultural and historical attractions associated with ancient Greek and Turkish civilizations as well as early Christianity. Nearby are the spectacular ruins of Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Also close by is the House of Mary, Mother of Jesus (Meryem Ana), a revered pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims.

Academics

Students will examine issues relating to women and work in contemporary Turkish society by studying the range of issues facing Turkish women today in a variety of socio-economic contexts. The course reader provides students with an interdisciplinary survey of women's issues in Turkish society from the Ottoman era imperial harem to Islamist feminist movements in the secular Republic of Turkey today. Students will analyze the economic, social, political, artistic and religious activities of women through the disciplinary lenses of women's studies, history, anthropology and folklore. This program is a unique opportunity to learn from Turkish women what issues they themselves regard to be of particular importance with respect to women and work. Gender and the centrality of the family and its implications for women and work will be emphasized.

This course will provide three upper level Languages and Cultures of Asia and will be recorded as LCA 300: Topics in Languages and Cultures of Asia, LCA 472: Women in Turkish Society, Women’s Studies 320: Special Topics in Women and Society or Folklore 530: Topics in Folkore.

Housing

Housing and breakfast is included in the program fee and is provided by a guest house at Ege University in Izmir. Enjoy the acclaimed cuisine of Turkey at open-air restaurants close to the university and at student cafes on campus.

Excursions and Activities

Field trips take advantage of the seminar's location at a major university in a metropolitan center with easy access to rural areas, both coastal and mountain. Meet women working in agriculture and animal husbandry. Bargain in open-air bazaars where women sell their traditional handiwork, food products and delicious cuisines. Talk with women in the professions, such as medicine, law and academic administration. Hear their perspectives on women and work in Turkey. Visit with women micro-entrepreneurs whose networks bridge rural and urban contexts. Experience first-hand Turkey’s famous hospitality in mountain and seaside villages. See a new, alternative form of agro/eco tourism run by a village women’s cooperative on the stunning Aegean peninsula of Karaburun. Swim in the Aegean! Visit the beautiful wine-producing village of Sirince where women reach out to encourage tourism by marketing their hand-woven textiles.