"Genç Bakış" Forum Broadcast Live From Campus
Photograph by Gülay Aydın (GRA/V)
BY EFE ÜSTÜNKAL (IR/IV)
One of the best-known TV talk shows in Turkey, "Abbas Güçlü ile Genç Bakış," was held at Bilkent University last week on March 7. The show was broadcast live from Mithat Çoruh Auditorium with the support of Atatürkçü Düşünce Topluluğu. The format of "Genç Bakış," presented each week from a different university campus, highlights the views of Turkish students on topics of current interest.
Due to the recent discussions in both Turkish politics and the media about the concept of nationalism, last week's program gave a historical perspective to the topic, focusing on nationalism from the Ottoman Empire up to the present. Prominent historian Prof. İlber Ortaylı, who formerly taught at Bilkent, answered questions from presenter Abbas Güçlü and the audience regarding the concepts of nation, nationalism, nationhood, the nation-state and racism.
The broadcast started live on national TV channel Kanal D at 12:30 a.m., with the event attracting one of Mithat Çoruh Auditorium's largest audiences ever. The program opened with Mr. Güçlü introducing the topics to be covered, the guests and Bilkent University.
The issues surrounding the historical roots of nationalism in Turkey were discussed in depth by Prof. Ortaylı, who gave highly informative responses to the questions and comments from the audience. This included the Bilkent students present in the auditorium as well as people from all over the country, who participated via telephone and social media. During the broadcast, Mr. Güçlü announced that this episode of "Genç Bakış" was a trending topic on Twitter.
Bilkent students from a variety of departments posed a number of different questions regarding the week's topic. One particular insight came when a student from the Department of Political Science asked Prof. Ortaylı what academicians' and students' duties should be concerning the nationalism issue. He responded that while the actual duty lies on the shoulders of the media, academicians and students should do more research on the topic using a variety of sources.
The broadcast ended at 3 a.m., and Bilkent News had a chance to ask Mr. Güçlü how he felt about being at Bilkent University. Saying he was very happy to be here, he noted that Bilkent has a certain difference when compared to other universities. He described this in terms of something he had noticed during the program: "Before asking questions or commenting on something, Bilkent students always give their names and departments. I think this is what Bilkent University is very good at -- treating its students as true individuals and demonstrating that all students and their ideas are highly important."