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Expelling and receiving scholars

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Olga Hünler at Acıbadem University
Olga Hünler
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Abstract

Restrictions on academic freedom, persecution and armed conflict have forced many scholars into exile. So far, the professional trajectories of these scholars and their contributions to knowledge exchange have not been studied comprehensively. The contributors to this volume address the situations and networks of scholars in exile, the challenges they face in their host countries and the opportunities they use. These issues are highly relevant to discussions about the moral economies of higher education institutions and support programs. Although the contributions largely focus on Germany as a host country, they also offer telling examples of forced mobility in the Global South, including both contemporary and historical perspectives.
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South-South perspectives
Expelling and receiving scholars
Recurring purges at universities and the emergence of
alternative hubs for knowledge production in Turkey
Olga Hünler
           
          
        
         
      
        
           
         
        
           

          
          
           
           
           
       
          
          
           
          
          
           
            
            
206 Olga Hünler
         
           
        
     
First waves of discharges from universities: Late Ottoman Empire
and the Early Republic
            
          
          
            
           
         
        
        
            
        
    
           
         
          
           
         
          
            
          
          
         
          
         
            
          Dār al-Fünūn 
              
       ulum    
         
Expelling and receiving scholars 207
          
          
         
          
          
 
           
           
           
          
          
       
         
          
           
          
          
         
  
          
        
          
          
          
          
        
        
          
          
          
          
          
Kadro        Kadro  
       
             
             
 
208 Olga Hünler
            
          
         
      
          
         
           
            
         
           
          
          
          
          
        
          
           
            
             
    
          
         
         
        
          
         
          
         
           
            
            
          
            
            
          
            
        
Expelling and receiving scholars 209
           
          
        
           
         
           
           
           
           
         
          
         
           
        
    
        
        
          
          
         
         
         
           
        
          
         
            
          
         
         
          
              
   
           
              
            
            
  
210 Olga Hünler
           
         
          
         
          
  
          
          
             
             
           
        
        
           
        
         
          
        
          
           
        
          
         
         
      
            
            
           
          
             
         
        
  
Expelling and receiving scholars 211
The second wave of purges from universities: From 1948 to 1980
           
           
     
          
          
            
         
        
         
          
          
   
          
          
         
       
      
         
          
         
         
         
          
          
         
            
         
            
           
          
            
            
          
          
 
212 Olga Hünler
          
          
       
          
            
         
          
          
          
            
         
         
           
          
         
        
         
         
           
          
          
        
       
        
  
           
 
             
          
           
          
             
           
             

           
            
Expelling and receiving scholars 213
       
    
           
         
         
          
         
           
         
         
          
         
          
            
      
             
            
          
             
        
           
        
         
            
       
          
         
            
           
            
            
   
               
            
              
            
 
214 Olga Hünler
         
         
        
          
Third wave of purges after the 1980 coup and the privatization
ofhigher education
            
         
         
        
            
          
        
          
       
         
         
           
       
           
          
             
         
           
 
         
          
           
           
        
         
            
         
Expelling and receiving scholars 215
          
           
           
            
          
             
        
          
        
             
            
          
      
         
           
         
          
         
         
          
            
        
           
     
         
        
          
          
           
          
            
            
       
     
           
          
  
216 Olga Hünler
           
         
        
       
         
           
       
         
        
         
          
          
           
       
         
         
           
           
         
      
   
The last wave of discharges from universities: the Peace Petition
and failed coup attempt of July 2016
            
          
          
            
            
Expelling and receiving scholars 217
         
        
           
         
           
           
           
            
          
           
         
          
          
           
        
         
           
        
       
         
        
         
        
          
        
       
             
           
              
     
            
  


          
         

218 Olga Hünler
         
            
            
           
          
        
         
            
      
        
        
         
         
         
         
          
        
          
       
            
          
         
            
        
           
          
   
         
         
        
             
          
   
     
        


Expelling and receiving scholars 219
         
           
        
           
           
           
             
            
         
         
          
          
          
          
             
          
            
           
         
         
           

Syrian (refugee) scholars in Turkey
          
         
          
           
          
          
           
        
          
  

220 Olga Hünler
        
          
         
         
            
         
 
        
         
         
           
       
        
          
           
   
            
          
         
           
 
           
           
            
 
         
             
           
                
         
           
       
          
         
  
Expelling and receiving scholars 221
           
          
         
          
            
        
          
      
            
          
         
            
          
         
          
 
          
        
        
        
          
         
        
           
           
          
      
            
           
            
              
       
  

  
  
222 Olga Hünler
          
          
          
          
          
        
         
         
        
        
           
         
         
       
         
           
        
           
          
         
         
         
         
         
           
       
        
        
           
         
         
        
            
          
         
            
          
        
Expelling and receiving scholars 223
             
          
  
Solidarity Academies
         
         
           
            
        
           
        
          
          
        
          
       
       
          
        
        
          
          
        
          
         
           
         
           
        
 
          

         
         
224 Olga Hünler
        
         
        
         
          
 
           
          
             
          
         
         
         
        
          
           
         
         
         
          
             
          
           
            
          
           
          
        
          
           
           
   
        
         
  
               
Expelling and receiving scholars 225
         
         
         
         
          
           
        
         
         
            
          
       
              
              
              
            
            
          
            
             

          
          
           
           
            
              
         
          
   
Conclusion
        
                
            
226 Olga Hünler
           
        
          
       
        
         
         
         
           
        
            
          
         
         
         
         
         
        
         
       
   
        
          
          
           
          
        
          
           
         
           
        
         
     
 

Expelling and receiving scholars 227
References
            
          
      
          
         

          
           
         
      
          
        
     
             
          
 
         
       
      
          
         
          
    

          
        
        

            
        
     
            
        
          
         
    
228 Olga Hünler
        
         

        
          
            
      
       
        
       
   
          
   
          
         
         

         
       
  

        
 
         
       
          
     
          
   
         
     
        
         
      
         
        
     
Expelling and receiving scholars 229
          
       
    

         
        
 
       
       
        
     
        
           
        
 
             
          
       
           
   
          

          
        
        
     
          
        
      
            
         
        
 
         
         
           
         
230 Olga Hünler
          
           
          

          
       

        
       
       
         
       
          
        
        
         
        

         
          
         

        
    
         
         
 

         
  
            
           
 

         
   

Expelling and receiving scholars 231
        
         

          
        
         
        
 

         
        

      
        
         
 
           
           
          
       
       

       
       
        
           
 
           
   
        

        
       
         
 
             
           
       
232 Olga Hünler



        
        
... However, shifts in political dynamics have introduced changes that have sparked debates surrounding the interference of political entities in academic affairs. Particularly, during the cold war era, many academics who were labeled as leftists or communists by different governments were expunged from academia, but particularly so in 1940s and early 1980s [20]. ...
Political appointments to rector positions: a shifting landscape in Turkish academia
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  • Dec 2024
This paper examines the shifting landscape of higher education in Turkey, highlighting a disconcerting trend of politically motivated appointments, coined as “parasailing.” Departing from traditional merit-based norms, this practice of appointing professors without necessary approvals disrupts the academic environment, prompting concerns about the integrity of higher education institutions. The paper introduces the term “parasailing” to elucidate this phenomenon, emphasizing the connection between the appointed professor and their academic destination. In contrast to the widely used term “parachuting,” in Turkish academia the proposed terminology offers a better understanding of the appointment process. The subsequent sections provide an overview of the Turkish academic landscape, explore the origin of the term “parachuting,” review existing literature, define “parasailing,” and connect it to different philosophical thoughts. Overall, this paper contributes to a broader comprehension of the challenges facing Turkish higher education, urging a reconsideration of appointment procedures.
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... Knowledge production is challenged or enabled by different political contexts where academic freedom and institutional autonomy of universities cannot be taken for granted (e.g., Hünler, 2022). Depending on the specific characteristics of the political climate, for example, research could be unethical if it helps uncover identities and becomes complicit in state oppression tactics or increases the chances of online harassment. ...
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Academic Freedom and Living in Exile: Experiences of Academics in Turkey
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Full-text available
  • Jan 2021
Academic freedom within educational institutions is imperative for the scholarship of academics as well as for the promotion of progressive societies. Therefore, when academic freedom is threatened, a plethora of factors inhibit research and scholarship within universities that hinder the advancement of science and knowledge, and that impacts society. This qualitative phenomenological research study sought to explore the experiences of academics who left Turkey, their reasons for leaving, and their process of integrating into new societies. In addition, it aimed to understand their perceptions of academic freedom in Turkey before and after the July 16, 2016 coup attempt. Fifteen Turkish academics and scholars were purposively selected for this study. Data from multiple sources, including semi-structured individual interviews, focus group interviews, and field notes, were analyzed. To increase the validity and reliability of the study, the researchers triangulated the data, bracketed themselves, and used member checking and outside readers. The findings of the study indicated that most participants self-identified as apolitical but found themselves victims of a political system in which their academia brought brutal and unjustified repercussions. The events following the coup attempt extinguished their academic freedoms and human rights in Turkey. Consequently, the academic and personal struggles and pressures forced them to flee and become refugees or exiles on a quest to re-establish their lives, identity, and academia in a new country. Their experiences before and after the coup expose the atrocities and unjust and traumatic outcomes that were a result of their identity as highly educated scholars and advocates for a more democratic and peaceful society. Hence, this study reveals the political ramifications on academic freedom and scholarship in Turkey and how this has impacted universities and scholars.
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‘My life as a second-class human being’: Experiences of a refugee academic
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  • Sep 2020
This paper reviews some theoretical ideas about how refugees are positioned within social, psychological and humanitarian debates and then, discusses the concept of ‘refugee academics’ with references to the struggles of Syrian scholars who are living in exile. Drawing upon one Syrian academic’s experiences of displacement and academic life in exile, it argues that the social and political constructs of ‘refugeeness’ and depiction of these academics as victims or societal threats as refugees need to be transformed into narratives of human acceptance, opportunities of coproduction of knowledge, academic diversity and mutual benefits.
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Testimonies of Syrian Academic Displacement Post-2011: Time, place and the agentic self
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2020
This article explores the experiences of protracted displacement in a group of 19 displaced Syrian academics now living in Turkey who are often referred to as the ‘precariat’ – that is, a group or collective of people who are living in conditions of high unpredictability, insecurity and uncertainty. As part of a small-scale collaborative professional enquiry semi-structured interviews with these academics were conducted to understand the social, affective and professional experiences, needs and concerns of the academics during and after their forced displacement. The key concepts of ‘precarity’ and ‘crises of selfhood’ alongside memory and testimony, inform the analysis. This article seeks to provide an account of this collective experience and its complex character and concludes with observations on how one might understand the constraints on professional agency and how might one support displaced academics in such contexts. Solidarity in exile and the development of political friendships are argued for as a principle to inform all work.
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TAKING TO THE STREETS: A STUDY OF THE STREET ACADEMY IN ANKARA
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Full-text available
  • Dec 2019
In wide-ranging attacks on academic freedom in Turkey in recent years, thousands of academics have lost their university positions. At the end of 2016 oppositional academics, many of whom were dismissed from their positions for having signed a peace petition, established a Street Academy as an alternative way to reach out to both students and the public in Ankara. In this study we analyse the experiences of these street academy lecturers from the perspective of Social Representation Theory. Our main aims were to explore teaching experience perceptions and representations and, in addition, also the opportunities and challenges generated by this alternative academy. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews with five female and five male street academy lecturers. The results of a qualitative thematic analysis revealed that the way participants explained their experiences could be organised into three major themes and several subordinate themes. One of the most salient results was that participating in the street Academy had become a way to defend academic freedom. More generally suggested results demonstrated that teaching in this new setting, outside of the universities and away from customised learning environments, was quite a novel experience. The possible implications of street academy lecturers’ experiences are discussed.
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Power, knowledge, and universities: Turkey’s dismissed ‘academics for peace’
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  • Jun 2020
This article questions the role of universities in the power/knowledge relation by examining the case of Turkey’s ‘Academics for Peace.’ It is based on six in-depth interviews conducted with dismissed peace petitioners. Facing both the market pressures and the state oppression, the intellectual institutions in many countries are in a precarious position. Even though it is true that knowledge can be oppressive, it is also true that it can help constructing resistance. However, this requires new, and relatively autonomous, spaces of intellectual activity. Deriving from the example of Turkey’s ‘solidarity academies,’ this paper shows that the attempts to construct alternative institutions face numerous hardships, many of them deriving from lack of funding. It calls for contemplation on ways of dealing with the neoliberalization of intellectual institutions and the authoritarian political wave that numerous countries face while scrutinizing the relationship between scientific knowledge and power relations.
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Universities in Turkey: Changing politics and science
Article
  • Jun 2020
Throughout the history of modernization, universities have been one of the critical topics of debate of Turkish political life. Especially in the Republican period, universities continued to occupy the political and social agendas in line with their relations with politics in the context of both organization and caderization and the mentality they brought forward. In the process from the beginning of the Republican period to the present day, the reorganizations made again and again in universities under the name of reform in the direction of the prevailing understanding of power both brought about the liquidation of existing cadres and hindered the formation of a scientific tradition. In other words, the scientific understanding in Turkey has always remained young throughout the history of the republic. This, in turn, rendered universities and Turkish intellectual life more open to international influences. Such an understanding of university acted in line with the political institutions' preferences in the international arena rather than determining the internal and external agenda of the country; thus, university became an institution, which acted with the understanding of eclecticism rather than production. That the change in the understanding of science was parallel to the preferences of the institution of politics, also rendered science–politics relations and the qualifications that academicians should have debatable. The present article aims to address these discussions about the Turkish universities in the context of the changing political and scientific mindset in the Ottoman‐Turkish modernization process, especially during the Republican period, and to analyze how the organizational structure and mentality of scientific institutions have been shaped.
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