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Publication Metadata only A clash of civilizations? Examining liberal-democratic values in Turkey and the European Union(Wiley, 2008) Department of Sociology; Dixon, Jeffrey C.; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; N/ATurkey's proposed entry into the European Union (EU) has been undermined by Europeans' perceptions of Turkish-European cultural differences, particularly regarding the liberal-democratic values that the EU promotes (democracy, rule of law, and respect for and appreciation of minority/human rights). Yet, cross-national research on values has not focused on Turkey, the EU, and these liberal-democratic values, leaving assumptions of cultural differences and their explanations untested. Through analyses of World and European Values Survey data (1999-2002), this article asks whether people in Turkey have the same values regarding democracy, rule of law (versus religious and authoritarian rule), and minority/human rights as people in EU member and candidate states (as of 2000)? What factors explain these values? I find that people in Turkey support democracy to the same extent as people in EU member and candidate states, but people in Turkey are more supportive of religious and authoritarian rule and are less tolerant of minorities. Although the 'clash of civilizations' thesis expects liberal values to be ordered according to countries' religious traditions, with western Christian the most supportive and Islamic the least, only for tolerance of minorities values is this pattern found. Instead, economic development most consistently explains differences between Turkey and EU member and candidate states in support for these values. I conclude with calls for theoretical refinement, particularly of the clash of civilizations thesis, along with suggestions for future research to examine more Muslim and Orthodox countries; I discuss the debate over Turkey's EU entry.Publication Metadata only Cultural encounters in the social sciences and humanities: western emigre scholars in Turkey(Sage Publications Ltd, 2009) Department of Sociology; Ergin, Murat; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 106427Turkish modernization relied on the western social sciences and humanities not only as an abstract and distant model, but also in the form of close encounters and interactions with western refugee scholars. This article examines the activities of western intellectuals and experts who visited Turkey in the early republican era (1923-50), especially focusing on a group of emigre scholars who were employed in Turkey after the university reform of 1933. While European and North American social scientists were drawn to meticulous comparisons of 'East' and 'West' in this period, elites in the former component of this comparative dichotomy were seeking creative ways to turn this taxonomy to their advantage. In the Turkish case, the project of adopting modernity contained universalistic aspects intended to function for particular local needs. A body of racial, historical and linguistic theories attempted to create and sustain a nationally homogeneous society while, at the same time, emphasizing the contributions of Turkishness to western and modern history. Republican scholars tried to establish the Turkish origins of western civilization with the help of western social sciences in general and of western emigre scholars in particular. In the process of facilitating the local efforts to import western modernity into the specificity of Turkishness, refugee scholars encountered contradictory demands and employed different strategies to respond to these demands.Publication Open Access Estimated prevalence rates and risk factors for common mental health problems among Syrian and Afghan refugees in Türkiye(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2022) Ventevogel, P.; Akbıyık, N.; Erşahin, M.; Department of Sociology; Department of Psychology; Acartürk, Ceren; Kurt, Gülşah; Ekhtiari, Maryam; İlkkurşun, Zeynep; Faculty Member; Teaching Faculty; Master Student; Department of Sociology; Department of Psychology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; 39271; N/A; N/A; N/ABackground: Türkiye hosts 4 million refugees and asylum seekers, with Syrians and Afghans being among the largest refugee groups in country. There are limited comparative data on the conflict- and displacement-related experiences of these groups and the relation with mental health status. Aims: to assess the mental health status of Syrians and Afghans in Türkiye, identify risk factors and explore to what extent differences in mental health conditions are related to potentially traumatic events and post-displacement stressors. Method: two parallel online survey studies were conducted between April and June 2021 among 798 Syrians and 785 Afghans in Türkiye. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic events (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), post-displacement stressors (Post-Migration Living Difficulties Checklist), symptoms of depression and anxiety (Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, short form). Results: for Syrian and Afghan participants respectively, estimated prevalence rates were: 41.1% and 50.3% for depression; 39.6% and 41% for anxiety; and 41.6% and 46.5% for PTSD. In both groups, significant predictors were female gender, exposure to potentially traumatic events, and structural and socioeconomic post-displacement stressors. Additional risk factors were older age for Afghans and higher education for Syrians. Conclusions: self-reported symptoms of common mental health problems are highly prevalent among Syrian and Afghan refugees and associated with a wide range of risk factors. After controlling for conflict- and displacement-related experiences, Afghans reported higher anxiety symptoms than Syrians, which is likely related to their legal status in Türkiye.Publication Metadata only Eternal life as privilege: cultural boundaries and social stratification in death announcements (1950-2010)(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2023) Department of Sociology; Ergin, Murat; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and HumanitiesBehind a veneer of "disinterested" concern, death rituals reflect and reproduce patterns of social and cultural stratification. This paper examines 296,483 death announcements published in a Turkish daily newspaper in a 60-year timespan. The content analysis of the texts shows that, first, the discourses around death reveal the complex overlaps between cultural boundaries and social stratification. Second, the patterns of social and cultural stratification in death announcements interweave with broad historical trends, making it possible to "read" societies through the lens of death. These historical trends map onto foundational issues, such as the gender gap, neoliberal transformations, modernization, and religiosity.Publication Open Access Family role in in-patient rehabilitation: the cases of England and Turkey(Taylor _ Francis, 2019) Shakespeare, Tom; Yardımcı, Sibel; Department of Sociology; Bezmez, Dikmen; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 101788Purpose: this article explores the differences between experiences of family role in in-patient rehabilitation in Turkey and England. Background: the literature predominantly assumes family presence in rehabilitation as positive, because it draws upon Western cases, where care is delivered fully by professionals, and patients may feel isolated during hospital stays. Analyses of other contexts provide a more nuanced view. Method: this qualitative research included in-depth interviews (Turkey: 42, England: 18) with people with disabilities (n = 39), their families (n = 8) and hospital staff (n = 13); hospital ethnography (Turkey), focus groups (England: 3 groups involving 4 doctors, 5 nurses, 6 therapists), and participant-observation (England: 5 families). Thematic analysis highlights experiences of family involvement across different contexts. Results: Families are differently integrated in rehabilitation in England and Turkey. In England, where family presence is regulated and relatively limited, people with disabilities feel more isolated and see family as a major form of support. In Turkey, where family presence is unregulated and intense, they enjoy family as an agent of intra-hospital socialising, but find it disabling when it implies a loss of privacy and individuality. Conclusion: family involvement in rehabilitation should support social interaction but allow people with disabilities to remain independent. Implications for rehabilitation Family involvement in rehabilitation can be both enabling and disabling. Existing literature draws upon rehabilitation practices, where family presence is limited and perceived as positive. An analysis of cases, where families are integral to the health care system (e.g., Turkey), can provide a nuanced view of family integration, which can be both enabling and disabling. Rehabilitation processes and health professionals need to integrate families in ways that will enrich social interaction, but still allow people with disabilities to retain their independence.Publication Metadata only Human rights, humanitarianism, and state violence: medical documentation of torture in Turkey(Wiley, 2016) Department of Sociology; Can, Başak Bulut; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 219278State authorities invested in developing official expert discourses and practices to deny torture in post-1980 coup d''etat Turkey. Documentation of torture was therefore crucial for the incipient human rights movement there in the 1980s. Human rights physicians used their expertise not only to treat torture victims but also to document torture and eventually found the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) in 1990. Drawing on an ethnographic and archival research at the HRFT, this article examines the genealogy of anti-torture struggles in Turkey and argues that locally mediated intimacies and/or hostilities between victims of state violence, human rights physicians, and official forensics reveal the limitations of certain universal humanitarian and human rights principles. It also shows that locally mediated long-term humanitarian encounters around the question of political violence challenge forensic denial of violence and remake the legitimate levels of state violence.Publication Metadata only It takes a village to support the vocabulary development of children with multiple risk factors(American Psychological Association (APA), 2014) Aydemir, Nuran; Çankaya, Dilek; Department of Psychology; Department of Psychology; Department of Psychology; Department of Sociology; Department of Psychology; Baydar, Nazlı; Selçuk, Bilge; Küntay, Aylin C.; Gökşen, Fatoş; Cemalcılar, Zeynep; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; Department of Psychology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 50789; 52913; 178879; 51292; 40374Data from a nationally representative sample from Turkey (N = 1,017) were used to investigate the environmental factors that support the receptive vocabulary of 3-year-old children who differ in their developmental risk due to family low economic status and elevated maternal depressive symptoms. Children's vocabulary knowledge was strongly associated with language stimulation and learning materials in all families regardless of risk status. Maternal warmth and responsiveness supported vocabulary competence in families of low economic status only when maternal depressive symptoms were low. In families with the highest levels of risk, that is, with depression and economic distress jointly present, support by the extended family and neighbors for caring for the child protected children's vocabulary development against these adverse conditions. The empirical evidence on the positive contribution of extrafamilial support to young children's receptive vocabulary under adverse conditions allows an expansion of our current theorizing about influences on language development.Publication Metadata only Normative vs. Attitudinal considerations in breastfeeding behavior: multifaceted social influences in a developing country context(Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, 2002) Department of Sociology; Gökşen, Fatoş; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 51292The aim of the paper is to test the basic assumptions underlying the theory of reasoned action (TRA) for exclusive breastfeeding behavior taking place in the rather complicated social environment of women who have just given birth, The paper aims (i) to argue that normative rather than attitudinal considerations are more important in engaging the correct breastfeeding behavior, and (ii) to demonstrate that the TRA concept of social norm should be treated as a multi-layered construct which involves several enabling factors in predicting complex behaviors such as breastfeeding. Data were collected in three phases as part of a prospective cohort follow-up design. The first phase of data collection was conducted in the hospital with mothers after the delivery. Two follow-up questionnaires were administered at the end of the first and second months. Results did not confirm the assertions of the TRA. Logistic regression models and multiple regression analyses indicated that intention and belief/attitude measures taken at the time of birth did not predict end-of-first-month full breastfeeding behavior. Overall, results revealed that intention by itself was not a strong determinant of breastfeeding unless it was conditioned by enabling factors such as social support and subjective norms regarding breastfeeding. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.Publication Metadata only Religiosity and the construction of death in Turkish death announcements, 1970-2009(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2012) Department of Sociology; Ergin, Murat; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 106427Death and rituals performed after death reflect and reproduce social distinctions despite death's popular reputation as a great leveler. This study examines expressions of religiosity and constructions of death in Turkish death announcements, paying particular attention to gendered, ethnic, and temporal variations as well as markers of status and cultural distinction. Death announcements in Turkey occupy a liminal position between obituaries and death notices: Unlike obituaries, no editorial decisions are involved in their publications. However, unlike death notices, Turkish announcements are venues for expressions of culturally scripted individual decisions. These large and decentralized collections of private decisions display rigid genre characteristics involving formulaic phrases but also change over time to reflect social, cultural, and economic changes in Turkish society. The present study focuses on a sample (N = 2,812) of death announcements in a major Turkish daily newspaper (Hurriyet) from 1970 to 2009. Results show that death announcements in Turkey increasingly rely on an emotional tone of loss and bereavement that replace constructions of death in a more detached and distant language and that religious and secular preferences in the language of announcements are an important domain in which cultural battles are fought and the participation patterns of new middle classes are negotiated.Publication Metadata only Taking it to the grave: gender, cultural capital, and ethnicity in turkish death announcements(Sage, 2009) Department of Sociology; Ergin, Murat; Faculty Member; Department of Sociology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 106427Popularly considered a great equalizer, death and the rituals around it nevertheless accentuate social distinctions. The present study focuses on a sample (N = 2554) of death announcements in a major Turkish daily newspaper (Hürriyet) from 1970 to 2006. Out of the liminal position of Turkish death announcements between obituaries and death notices emerges a large decentralized collection of private decisions responding to death, reflecting attitudes toward gender, ethnic/religious minority status and cultural capital, and echoing the aggregate efforts of privileged groups to maintain a particular self-image. Class closures lead to openings for traditionally under-represented minorities, such as Jewish Turkish citizens and citizens of Greek or Armenian origin. Results reveal that signs of status and power in announcements are largely monopolized by men of Turkish-Muslim origins. Although the changes in the genre-characteristics of death announcements are slow, they correspond to major turning points in Turkish social history.