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FAS Seminar Series by Dr. Umut Parmaksız & Dr. Aylin Çevik

Tarih:  -

Konum:  A 116

Dear Academicians and Colleagues,

You are kindly invited to Faculty of Arts & Science  Seminars  focusing on Sociology.

Date  : 24th January, 2017

Time  : 2PM-4PM

Place : A Building  1st Floor A116

Seminar 1:

Title         : “Making Sense of the Postsecular: Renaturalizing religion or denaturalizing the secular?”

Speaker    : Dr. Umut PARMAKSIZ

Time        : 14:00

Abstract  :

In this seminar, I will talk about the ‘postsecular’ and how the concept should be put to use in social theory. I will first present a historical overview of the literature, identifying two major fields, social theology and politics, within which three major critiques of secularity are developed: (1) disenchantment and the loss of community; (2) the impossibility of absolute secularity; and (3) the exclusion of religion from the public sphere. Later, I will criticize the social theology strand and argue that it has limited critical potential as it intends to renaturalize the religious. Instead, I will assert that the concept has critical power when used within the context of a postreligious denaturalization of the secular. Lastly, I will shift my focus to the analytical utility of the concept, and examine how the concept can help us make sense of contemporary social and political phenomenon.

This seminar is based on the following paper:

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1368431016682743

Seminar 2:

Title         : “Socioeconomic Inequalities in Higher Education Attainment:

                   Comparison of the Education and Engineering Faculties in Turkey”

Speaker    :Dr. Aylin ÇEVİK

Time         : 15:00

Abstract :

The attainment of higher education has occurred as a significant issue in contemporary societies as it provides the chance for upward social mobility, status and holding a good occupation position. Previous research displayed that the equality of educational opportunity has not been achieved yet in terms of gender, regions, and socioeconomic background of family. Moreover, the literature indicates that there has been a strong relationship between familial socioeconomic background (ascribed status) and education attainment. Within this conceptualization, in this presentation, the higher education attainment process in Turkey, which is related with the upward social mobility and/or the reproducing inequality, will be discussed. The gender differences (across and within) in case of the Education faculty (as female-dominated field) and Engineering faculty (as male dominated field) in Turkey will be specifically focused and the following research questions will be attempted to be answered: Who can accesses to the Education faculty as female-dominated field and Engineering faculty as male-dominated field in Turkey? What are the differences/similarities among students in terms of their socio-demographic, family, and educational backgrounds? Which variables do affect the attainment of these faculties regarding gender? Drawing on the Eurostudent Survey IV (2011), which is nationwide representative and internationally comparable data, the differences between two faculties will be explored by gender.