CTS Westminster Debate with Prof Busra Ersanli at SOAS

The Centre for Turkey Studies (CTS) and Refugee Workers Cultural Association (RWCA) are pleased to invite you to a Westminster Debate with Busra Ersanli, Political Scientist and Academic.

Busra Ersanli will be in London as a guest of RWCA to speak at various meetings. Ersanli with Ibrahim Avcil of RWCA will talk at a public meeting organised by the Centre for Turkey Studies on Monday, 29 April 2013. The event will be held in Woburn Suite Large Room (B102) at the Brunei Gallery of School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Busra Ersanli will discuss the Kurdish issue in Turkey and problems of democratic participation.  The Turkish government has recently taken several steps to solve its longstanding and long ignored Kurdish issue. Commonly referred to as ‘Solution Process’, the public in Turkey has been highly skeptical as to whether these government initiatives are simply quick fixes or permanent attempts at reconciliation.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday 29th April at 7pm in Woburn Suite Large Room (B102) at the Brunei Gallery of School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. We kindly ask you to arrive at 6.30, allowing the event to start promptly at 7pm.

Booking is required for this event.

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Looking forward to hearing from you

BIOGRPAPHY

Prof. Büşra Ersanlı has been working at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Marmara University, Istanbul since 1990. She obtained her BA degree in 1978 at the Department of English Language and Literature of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. She completed her MA and PhD at the Department of Political Science of the same university respectively in 1981 and 1989. Her PhD thesis titled “A Cultural Dimension of the Kemalist Revolution: The Turkish History Thesis” was written under the guidance of acclaimed political historian Prof. Şerif Mardin.

Prof. Ersanlı conducted research in various institutions abroad including Hull University, U.K. (1983-84), Paris (BN), Cambridge (CUL), and London (LSE and BL) 1986, 1988, 1993, Paris (EHESS) 1997 and St. Petersburg (2000). Her main areas of interest include political theory, nationalism, Turkish nationalism, nationalistic historiography in Turkey, Central Asia, Caucasus, Russian Federation, Eurasian Studies and gender studies. Apart from English, she also has reading skills in various languages including French, Uzbek, Turkmen, Ottoman Turkish and Russian. She is at the same time the previous Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Marmara University (2006-2009). In addition, she received an award from the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences of this university in 1999 for her extraordinary achievements in the field of political science.

Prof. Ersanlı, who also worked as an advisor to the Turkish Minister of Culture between 1992 and 1996, has written many books and articles and presented papers in national and international academic conferences. She is also known as a political activist. She gave extensive support to many NGOs in Turkey including various human rights associations, KA.DER (the Association for the Support and Training of Women) and AÇ-EV (Mother Child Education Foundation). She has also been a member of TESEV (Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation), Association of University Professors, Helsinki Citizens Assembly, 10 December Movement, Peace Assembly, TÜSES (Foundation for Turkish Social, Economic and Political Research) and many other NGOs as founder, member and trainer.

In 2009, Prof. Ersanlı was elected to the Party Assembly of the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party). She has been included in the commission that was established within the BDP for writing a new constitution under the roof of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Contributing to the preparation and consensus-building talks held with the representatives of other political parties, Prof. Ersanlı has continued to reflect her experience as a political scientist and activist in the constitutional process.