News & events

Bilkent Philosophy and Literature Colloquia

We collaborate with Bilkent’s Program for Cultures, Civilizations and Ideas and the Universities of Rijeka and Wisconsin-Madison on the topic of “philosophy and literature”. We feature a range of invited talks, some of which take place on Zoom and some live. Click here to subscribe to these events and receive the links to the Zoom events. For further information, you may contact the organisers: Andrea Selleri at andrea.selleri@bilkent.edu.tr , Patrick Fessenbecker at pfessenbecker@gmail.com , or Atti Viragh at aviragh@bilkent.edu.tr .

Spring 2023 Events

  • David S. Coombs (Clemson University): “Walter Pater and Literature as a Sensory Experience”. 1 March, 17:30 (Zoom)
  • Daniel Katz (University of Warwick): Title TBC. 5 April, 17:30 (live and on Zoom, room TBA).
  • Eileen John (University of Warwick): Title TBC. 10 May, 17:30 (live and on Zoom, room TBA).

Fall 2022 Events

  • Iris Vidmar Jovanović (University of Rijeka): “From Banned to Burnt for the Public Good: On the (Im)morality of Literature”. 12 October, 17:30. Abstract
  • C. Thi Nguyen (University of Utah): “Art as a Shelter from Science”. 28 October, 19:30. Abstract
  • Timothy Bewes (Brown University): “Free Indirect: The Novel in a Postfictional Age”. 9 December, 19:30.

Spring 2022 Events

  • Joshua Gang: “Derek Jarman and Everything That is the Case.” 1 April, 18:45. Abstract
  • Andrea Gadberry, “To Be Determined: On Literature’s Causes”. 28 April, 19:30. Abstract
  • Joshua Landy, “I’m like a Helicopter: For a Two-Point Theory of Creative Imagery”. 10 May, 18:30. Abstract

Fall 2021 Events

  • Dominic McIver Lopes, “Aesthetic Injustice: What It Is and Why It Matters.” 9 September, 19:00
  • Robert Pippin, “Do the Arts Contribute to Philosophy?” 5 October, 19:30.
  • Roger Maioli, “Enlightenment Relativism: A Reassessment”. 21 October, 19:30
  • Matthew Sussman, “Virtue Aesthetics”. 25 November, 12:30
  • Toril Moi, “Wittgensteinian Literary Criticism? An Investigation of Stanley Cavell’s Essay on King Lear“. 6 December, 19:30. Abstract

 

Humanities Seminar Series

We host a series of talks by Ankara-based scholars illustrating some of their work in progress, with the aim of facilitating collaboration across faculties and universities for scholars interested in any field in the humanities. Unless otherwise specified, all talks take place in room G-160 of Bilkent campus on selected Wednesdays afternoons. For more information, you may contact Andrea Selleri at andrea.selleri@bilkent.edu.tr

Spring 2023 Events

  • Scott Kennedy (CCI): “Abolishing the Family in the Fifteenth-Century Catholic Church: The Cardinal Bessarion and Plato’s Community of Women”. 15 February, 17:30.
  • Kara McCormack (AMER): Title TBC. 22 March, 17:30.
  • Stein H. Olsen (ELIT): Title TBC. 26 April, 17:30 (Zoom).

Fall 2022 Events

  • Esra Almas (TR): “Strangers in a Strange Land: Jewish Memories of Istanbul”. 28 September, 17:30.
  • Seda Bahar Pancaroğlu (TOBB University): “Bringing back from the dead: Questioning Authors’ Agency in Postcolonial Biofiction”. 2 November, 17:30.

 

“Literature and Sustainability” lecture series

In 2022, as part of Bilkent’s “Year of Sustainability,” the Departments of English Language and Literature and American Culture and Literature hosted a lecture series on “Literature and Sustainability.” On Monday, April 4, we welcomed Dr. John Parham (University of Worcester) to present “News from Somewhere: How Nineteenth-Century Writers Imagined Sustainability.” The series continued on April 21 with Dr. Vesna Kuiken’s (University at Albany, State University of New York) talk entitled “Life on the Rocks: Celia Thaxter on Ecological Memory.” The final lecture in the series was Dr. Priscilla Ybarra’s (University of North Texas) “Sustainability or Reciprocity?: Why Stories Matter,” which took place on Tuesday, May 10.