The Department of Turkish Literature (DTL) is a brave new development in the Bilkent system of graduate studies. We are committed to the mission of training a new generation of scholars, researchers,
Department of Turkish Literature: Breeding Ground for a New Generation of Literary Scholars critics, editors, and professors of Turkish literature.
Established in September 1998, our department offers a three-year Master's program. Our Ph.D. program will be inaugurated in September 2001.
Unlike most of the traditional programs at Turkish universities, Bilkent's Department of Turkish Literature concentrates on literary studies without the usual linguistics component. Its basic approach emphasizes critical analysis and interpretation of texts as well as of cultural and literary movements. The aim of the department is to train scholars and critics to use new dynamic methodologies and approaches. Another unique aspect of Bilkent's DTL is that all its graduate students are given tuition-free education, various stipends, and (if necessary) free lodging. DTL admits students who have completed successful undergraduate work in any field. Its students have so far come not only with degrees in Turkish Language and Literature but also in such disparate fields as Mining Engineering, Economics, International Relations, Philosophy, Communications, and English and American Literature.
Our courses range from 'Introduction to Turkish Literature' to 'Mystical Literature' , from 'Folk Literature' to 'Theories of Literature', from 'Dramatic Literature' to 'Literary Translation', from 'Criticism' to 'The Turkish Novel', from 'Early Anatolian Texts' to 'Ottoman Classical Literature.'
Throughout their studies, students do substantial reading and write quite a few papers, some of which are delivered at special symposia. These symposia, open to the Bilkent community and to the general public, have already become significant events. DTL students have become adept at publishing many of their papers in major literary journals and magazines.
The department works in cooperation with Bilkent's Center for Turkish Literature, which is active in organizing seminars and symposia, lecture series, poetry readings, and other events. In 1999 an epoch-making 'Turkish Women Fiction Writers Symposium' was organized and received considerable attention in the media. We have organized other events that have brought such literary stars as Orhan Pamuk, Hilmi Yavuz, İlhan Berk, Gülten Akın, and Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca to Bilkent.
The DTL difference is truly notable. Here students participate in and contribute to a new exciting experience in Turkish literary explorations. Our department is pioneering new assessments and methodologies. Our hope is that DTL will become a breeding ground for a new generation of Turkish literary scholars. Come and join us if you want to make an impact in a momentous creative field.
