HIST 200 "History of Turkey" Award Ceremony
Group members receiving their "best project" award: Naz Temuçin (MATH), Nazlı Fulya Zengin (LAW), Aycan Başbozkurt (IE), Kıvılcım Cumbul (EE), Aykut Argun (PHYS)
"History of Turkey" (HIST 200), a compulsory course for all Bilkent University undergraduate students, was redesigned during the last academic year to encourage students to work in groups on research projects related to selected topics concerning the history of Turkey. Since the beginning of the 2011 spring semester, students from all departments at Bilkent University have been making presentations on their final HIST 200 projects. Each project has shed light on a specific field of Turkish history. These projects have been examined by a panel from the Department of History, with 10 projects chosen to receive awards.
The award ceremony took place on October 4 in the C-Block Amphitheater and was widely attended by students and their families. Prof. Halil İnalcık, internationally recognized as the doyen of Ottoman history, was present at the ceremony to give a speech entitled "Old Turkey and New Turkey." In his talk, Prof. İnalcık expressed his enthusiasm about the new design of the HIST 200 course and underlined the importance of history in understanding modern Turkey. Prof. Ali Doğramacı, chairman of the Board of Trustees and president of the university, and Prof. İnalcık shared their memories of how the history department was founded and encouraged students to enrich their learning experiences through a special appreciation of history.
At the ceremony, the top 10 groups were given certificates of achievement, while the top three groups also received annual subscriptions to Toplumsal Tarih Dergisi. The awards were presented by Prof. Doğramacı and Rector Abdullah Atalar (please see feass.bilkent.edu.tr for a complete listing of the top ten groups and their projects).