Turkey: Education and the Islamism-Secularism Debate

January 6, 2010 - January 20, 2010

EDHI 288/488 (3 credits), Core HO/Core D

“Education and the Islamism-Secularism Debate” (EDHI 288/488) offers a unique learning experience for undergraduate and master’s-level students interested in the connection between faith, politics, and education. The first half of the course will chart both Turkey’s long and illustrious Islamic past and its transition to secularism in the early twentieth century, all through the lens of education. The second half of the course will explore current debates between Islamists and secularists regarding the place of religion in Turkish society and, in particular, Turkish education.

Topics to be covered include education and Islam in the Ottoman Empire; Turkish educational reforms following World War I; and more recent controversies, such as the headscarf ban at universities and attempts to curb the proliferation of Islamic educational institutions. Course discussions will be enhanced by readings from scholars and novelists, as well as excursions to religious sites and schools of various levels and orientation. Students will walk away from their experience with a better understanding of the role of Islam in Turkey and the complex ways in which education reflects, reinforces, and occasionally reacts against, political ideology.

Faculty & Staff

Kevin R. McClure is the Director of the Global Communities living and learning program and a graduate of the International Education Policy program. He has researched and published on Islamic education in Southeast Asia and is currently researching political activism in Theology departments in Turkish higher education. 

Ranetta Hardin is a PhD candidate in the Education Policy Studies program.

Please contact Mr. McClure for information about course content and itinerary.

For questions about the application, registration and pre-departure logistics, please contact the Study Abroad Office.