Turkish (TURK 101–102) is a required course for Bilkent undergraduates. To celebrate the achievements of students who have completed the course, the Turkish Unit held the first TURK 101–102 award ceremony on December 20. At the ceremony, 10 students received awards for creative blog posts they had written during the 2017–2018 academic year. The pieces were chosen by two juries from the Turkish Unit and the Department of Turkish Literature, who evaluated 4,000 pieces preselected from among the approximately 18,000 posts written by students taking the course that year. Novelist and Bilkent graduate Hakan Bıçakçı (ECON ’01) was the guest speaker for the event.
The program was introduced by Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Kalpaklı, chair of both the Department of Turkish Literature and the Department of History. Describing the course, he noted that TURK 101–102 is unique not only in Turkey, but globally as well. It is conducted entirely online and supports active learning, with students expected to write blog posts expressing original ideas in a creative style.
Dr. Kalpaklı’s remarks were followed by the screening of a video in which students voiced their opinions regarding the course.
Next, Mr. Bıçakcı shared his experiences as a writer. He stated that his own “writing adventure” has benefited from music, literature and the cinema, and also underlined the importance of criticism for creative writing.
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of certificates and books to the award-winning students by Rector Abdullah Atalar, Vice Rector Adnan Akay, Turkish course coordinator Seda Uyanık Tanrıverdi and Mr. Bıçakçı, who subsequently signed his books during a reception following the ceremony.
In the future, the TURK 101–102 award ceremony will take place annually.
TURK 101–102 Award Winners for 2017–2018
First Prize: Barış Elçin (COMD), for “Orhan’a Orhan Demek”
Second Prize: Nehir Güner (MAN), for “Ece”
Third Prize: Cenk Günsel (MATH), for “Başka Bir Asırla Kesişen Umutsuzluk Köprüm”
Honorable Mentions:
Berker Canatar (EE), for “Ankara ‘Drone’umun Altında”
Hilal Şimşek (COMD), for “Bırakın İşe ‘Yaramaz’ Olalım”
Tuana Tuzman (AMER), for “Habanera”
Su Direkçi (EE), for “Benim Mahallem Senin Mahalleni Döver!”
Berfin Kavşut (EE), for “Yaşam Arayışı”
Nur Safa Gündüz (LAW), for “‘Cumartesi Anneleri’nden ‘Plaza de Mayo Anneleri’ne”
Buse İlayda Öz (ARCH), for “Cam Fanustaki Hayatlar”