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Imagining Turkey

Imagining Turkey

By: UCL Institute for Global Prosperity
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Imagination, as an analytical angle, deserves our attention as a political and social force that informs and connects masses, crosses borders, and manifests new socialities. The podcast series will host influential scholars, intellectuals, and artists who study and shape the imagination of Turkey on a global scale from various critical directions. The topics in the following months will include discussions on democracy in Turkey, the politics of religious differences at the border, and the limits of ethnographic research methods. 'Imagining Turkey' is co-hosted by the project PI Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu (UCL), M. Zișan Köker (LUC), and Hazal Aydın (BU). This series is sponsored by the European Research Council, and hosted in collaboration with the UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity and the Middle East Centre.© 2026 UCL Institute for Global Prosperity Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Imagining Wastelands: Turkey's Waste and Recycling Policy at the Periphery with Adnan Khan
    Jan 7 2026

    In this episode, the Takhayyul Project welcomes Adnan Khan, an acclaimed Canadian writer, editor, photographer, and visual storyteller. We discuss Adnan's recent work chronicling how the global trade in plastic waste has exploited some of the most vulnerable communities, such as refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Istanbul, and of the importance in bringing empathy and depth to similar stories that often go untold.


    Date of episode recording: 2025-11-09
    Language of episode: English
    Presenters: Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın.
    Guests: Adnan Khan
    Producer: Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın; edited by Alexander Pymm

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    39 mins
  • Imagining Turkey with Gündüz Vassaf
    Jun 20 2025

    In this episode, we welcome acclaimed writer, psychologist, and intellectual Gündüz Vassaf, whose work spans 17 published books blending literature, philosophy, and psychology. Author of the bestselling "Prisoners of Ourselves: Totalitarianism in Everyday Life" and his more recent novel "The Painter's Rebellion," Vassaf explores with us what it means to imagine Turkey, to be ‘Turkish’ and to be part of a community in the context of some of the world’s greatest challenges, such as global warming, Artificial Intelligence and an increasingly polarised political landscape.

    Transcription link:

    https://www.takhayyulproject.com/takhayyul-podcast-youtube


    Date of episode recording: 2025-05-19T00:00:00Z
    Duration: 00:35:58
    Language of episode: English
    Presenter:Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın
    Guests: Gündüz Vassaf
    Producer: Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın. Edited by Alexander Pymm

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    36 mins
  • Imagining Turkey Through Romeyka: A conversation with Professor Ioanna Sitaridou
    Jun 3 2025

    In this episode, we are hosting Professor Ioanna Sitaridou, Professor of Spanish and Historical Linguistics at the University of Cambridge and co director of the Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies. Professor Sitaridou is widely known for her pioneering work in the study and preservation of languages, including her ongoing with the Romeyka Project, which aims to document and spread awareness of the now-endangered Greek dialect, spoken in Northern Anatolia.

    www.takhayyulproject.com/takhayyul-podcast-youtube

    Date of episode recording: 2024-11-08T00:00:00Z
    Duration: 00:40:09
    Language of episode: English
    Presenter:Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın
    Guests: Professor Ioanna Sitaridou
    Producer: Dr. Sertaç Sehlikoglu; Meryem Zișan Köker; Hazal Aydın. Edited by Alexander Pymm

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    40 mins
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