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writing seminar, list of confirmed topics for the final paper

I want to share this diverse compilation of research topics suggested by students because I feel it exemplifies the interdisciplinary ethos of our Interdisciplinary Studies of the Middle East master’s program.

Rather than siloed concentrations, the program emphasizes cross-pollination of subjects, theories and methods to promote more nuanced understandings. The range displayed here – spanning politics, culture, language, social practices, urban studies and more – thus aligns with our commitment to intersectional scholarship.

Additionally, I hope this list inspires current and prospective students with possibilities for investigation. The Middle East is often narrowly construed along tired binaries and assumptions in mainstream discourse. But as these topics highlight, so many illuminating facets of societies in this region and of its people beyond the region remain underexplored through fresh, unconventional approaches.

As our existing cohort develops their work, the students themselves feature their progress through comments in this blog. The diverse research interests they’re pursuing signify not only the multiplicity of avenues worth studying, but also the program’s role in cultivating agile analytical minds.

Politics, Social Movements, and Conflict

  • framing the Middle East : an analysis of the U.S. media coverage of the Second Intifada
  • Gezi protests through an anarchist perspective
  • reactions to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Iranian non-governmental social media
  • the diplomatic rehabilitation of Bashar Al-Assad
  • Abdulhamid II: mighty sultan or a despot?
  • narallel Narratives: exploring political incapacity and colonial occupation in Palestine and Georgia
  • the reception of Gezi events by the witnesses
  • the transnational networks of the Gülen movement as a manifestation of Islamic revivalism abroad

Identity, Representation, and Social Justice

  • construction of the “Other” in parliament speeches of Turkish political parties
  • now we can walk with our heads held high: honor crimes in the Middle East
  • Hebrewism over Judaism: examining Canaanism through the poetry and politics of Yonatan Ratosh
  • on Feminist counter-violence: to kill for liberation under patriarchal state/justice: evidences from Turkey between 2010 and 2023

Migration and Mobility

  • analyzing the impacts of Middle Eastern immigration to Germany by the agency of the immigrants: cultural and socio-psychological experiences of immigrants, focus on Berlin and Turkey
  • migration of Yemenis to Germany
  • Ismailia to Berlin: an autoethnography
  • Stereotyping of Turkish Immigrants and Cultural clashes between early and new generations of Turkish immigrants to Germany

Urban Studies, Public Space, and Social and Cultural Practices

  • stray animals of Istanbul in its historical and urban culture
  • reclaiming spaces from a Feminist approach – a case study of Istanbul
  • the spatial politics of the films of early 20th century Istanbul
  • public bathing as a medicinal space (late early modern to the start of the modern era Ottoman Empire)
  • spiritual counseling services in public hospitals provided by the religious affairs directorate in Turkey in relation to secularism discussions
  • the role of Qat in Yemeni society and politics
  • narrative map of the layers of memory associated with the Dome of the Rock
  • cultural heritage and repatriation amid the postcolonial age: discussion on the Pergamon Museum
  • voices from the streets: exploring the dynamics and impact of Sokak Röportajları (street interviews) in Turkey
  • What do ‘Increasing Spiritual New Age Practices’ tell us?
  • Sports understanding in petro-dollar rich Middle Eastern Countries

Environmental Studies and Globalization

  • Turkey’s agricultural globalization and its effects on the local agriculture – a case study of hazelnut

Language and Knowledge

  • language and power: the story of how language policy turned the world into a class-based society
  • diglossia in the “Arab World” and its role in knowledge production (Egyptian and Syrian)
  • Arabic language instruction in German universities: exploring Orientalist dimensions in academic practices
  • MiddleEastGPT? comparative analysis of Large Language Models’ training data biases
  • criticism on the formation and use of the term ‘Middle East’

Literature, Art, and Philosophy

  • female sleuths in Nihal Karamağaralı’s crime novels
  • Magical Realism as a political technique in contemporary Turkish and Persian novels
  • brushing against tradition: a critical examination of female artistry in the late Ottoman period through the lens of Mihri Rasim
  • the Ottoman Empire and the erasure Armenian Craftspeople, special focus one of the oldest instrument makers in the world: the Zildjian family
  • phenomenology as a method of Talmudic hermeneutics: the case of Amrei Inshei in Bava Kamma

OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Victoria Mummelthei (29. November 2023). writing seminar, list of confirmed topics for the final paper. Keine Disziplin – No Discipline. Abgerufen am 20. Mai 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/13joy


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