Sakarya University Middle East Institute

Sakarya University Middle East Institute
Abbreviation ORMER
Type Public
Location
Director
 Kemal Inat
Affiliations Sakarya University
MESC Jordan
Staff
10 full-time faculty members and 18 research assistants
Website http://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/ ORMER Website]

Sakarya University Middle East Institute (Turkish: Sakarya Üniversitesi Ortadoğu Enstitüsü, also known as ORMER) is located on the campus of Sakarya University in Sakarya, Turkey. Its mission is to enhance understanding the Middle East and contribute with rigorous programs to research and teaching on the people, economies, religions and politics of the region. As part of this mission, the institute hosts graduate programs and organizes academic conferences and events. Almost half of ORMER’s graduate students are international, coming mostly from the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. ORMER has more than 10 full-time faculty and 18 research assistants.

History

The idea of Sakarya University Middle East Institute goes back to the year 2005 when the first issue of Middle East Annual (Ortadoğu Yıllığı) was published by a group of academics including the founding director of the institute, Kemal Inat. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, this idea turned a concrete step with the opening of a master program on the Middle East under the Social Science Institute of Sakarya University in May 2012. At the same year, an online master program on the Middle East was also inaugurated. Those who opened Master-level programs organized the first Middle East Congress on Politics and Society between 9 and 11 October 2012.[1]

After the opening of another Middle East program at PhD level, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Sakarya University was established on 11 December 2013.[2] The main focus of the center was the effect of the Arab Spring on politics, society and economy of the Middle East. Accordingly, the second Middle East Congress on Politics and Society was organized in order to deal with effects of the Arab Spring on the Middle East.[3]

Building of Middle East Institute

According to founding director of the institute, Turkey's need for academically-educated experts on the Middle East became a problem especially after two important political developments in the opening years of the 21st Century, rising interest of Turkey towards the Middle East region, and political turmoil following the Arab Spring.[4] Motivated by these political developments, the center reorganized itself as an institute. Therefore, Sakarya University Middle East Institute was officially established on May 25, 2015,[5] and all graduate programs and staff were transferred to this institute. However, the institute continues to use ORMER as its abbreviation. ORMER is a shortened form of Ortadoğu Merkezi (Middle East Center).

Graduate Programs

Sakarya University Middle East Institute mainly offers graduate programs of study at both MA level and PhD level. Both MA and PhD programs cover a wide range of elective courses (such as media, international relations, postcolonial studies, religion, and sociology).

Master of Arts (MA) - This two-year degree program is research-focused, allowing students to produce an original 15,000-word thesis. The program’s interdisciplinary coursework emphasizes contemporary Middle Eastern politics, Middle Eastern history, Middle Eastern economies, and Islamic studies. Courses are lectured in Turkish and English.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - This at least four-year degree program is research-focused, composing three stages, completion of coursework, a comprehensive examination, and a dissertation. After student complete first two stages, they are expected to produce an original dissertation. The program’s interdisciplinary coursework emphasizes political theories with a special focus on the Middle East, Islamic philosophy, religious studies, and security studies. Courses are lectured in Turkish and English.

In addition to graduate programs, ORMER also provides courses on main Middle Eastern languages such as Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew.

Activities

As part of its mission, Sakarya University Middle East Institute offers a variety of opportunities including conferences, lecture series, workshops, and outreach activities.[6] The institute also publishes booklets, detailed reports, policy briefs, and short commentaries on current affairs of the Middle East.

The main activity of the institute is to organize Middle East Congress on Politics and Society biennially. Prior to the establishment of the institute, this congress was organized firstly by Department of International Relations, Sakarya University in 2012. The second Middle East Congress on Politics and Society was organized by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Sakarya University in 2014.[7]

The Jerusalem Hall in Middle East Institute Building

Ibn Khaldun Library

The Ibn Khaldun Library, which is named after the leading Islamic sociologist Ibn Khaldun, is one of the largest libraries collecting books on the Middle East in Turkey. It contains over 10,000 books, and many periodicals focusing on the Middle East. Although it is a newly established library, it includes a significant number of academic sources on postcolonial studies. The library also provides Web access to its own holdings, and the holdings of the main library of Sakarya University.

The library is located on the first floor of the institute building.

Periodicals

In addition to policy briefs, and short commentaries published in its web page on occasion, Sakarya University Middle East Institute is the editorial home to a peer-review academic journal and a peer-review academic annual, both of which focus particularly on the Middle East.

The Middle East Annual, (Turkish: Ortadoğu Yıllığı), published since 2005, covers political, economic and societal developments in each country of the Middle East.

Turkish Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (Turkish: Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi),[8] published since 2014, is a peer-review academic journal.

Current staff

References

  1. ↑ http://researchturkey.org/middle-eastern-congress-on-politics-and-society-conference/
  2. ↑ http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2013/12/20131211-9.htm
  3. ↑ http://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/en/ii-middle-eastern-congress-on-politics-and-society/
  4. ↑ http://www.sakaryayenigun.com.tr/19039-uzmanlar-burada-yetisiyor-haberi.html
  5. ↑ http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2015/06/20150605-25-1.pdf
  6. ↑ http://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/en/about-us/
  7. ↑ http://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/en/i-middle-eastern-congress/
  8. ↑ http://tjmes.org/index.php/TJMES
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