College of Business Dean Lynne Richardson’s latest column appeared this week in The Free Lance-Star. To view the column, visit Cross-train Your Staff or You’ll Regret It.
Farnsworth and Gardner Research Presented at Conference
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, and Noah Gardner, an UMW 2018 honors graduate in political science, are co-authors of a research paper, “Late Night Political Humorists and the Donald Trump Presidency,” presented at the Northeastern Political Science Association Conference in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
This research project is supported by Dr. Farnsworth’s Waple Fellowship.
Al-Tikriti Co-Develops & Co-Edits Issue #288 of Middle East Report (MERIP) “Confronting the New Turkey”
On 21 December 2018, Middle East Report [MERIP] Issue #288, “Confronting the New Turkey,” was officially published for subscribers. UMW Associate Professor of Middle Eastern History Nabil Al-Tikriti joined the team of developers and editors who invited contributors and edited content for the issue, available online here: https://merip.org/magazine/288/.
The Issue Development Team (IDT) consisted of Profs. Elif Babül of Mt. Holyoke College, Nabil Al-Tikriti, and Ayça Alemdaroğlu of Northwestern University. Dr. Steve Niva was the executive editor.
Press Release: “Since the failed July, 2016 coup attempt, Turkey’s President Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have consolidated their unfettered rule over Turkey. This counter-coup has been undertaken through massive purges in the military, judiciary, media and academia—with tens of thousands detained or forced into exile—the shuttering of independent civic institutions and enshrining virtually unchecked executive power in a new constitution. Turkey’s authoritarian turn bears an elective affinity with emerging forms of populist authoritarianism and illiberal democracy, as well as anti-immigrant and anti-globalist sensibilities, that have redrawn the European political map and largely crushed nascent democratic risings across the Middle East.
Contributors to Confronting the New Turkey disentangle the social, political and economic factors that led to the manifestation of this global trend in Turkey. How Erdoğan accomplished this opens a window on the autocrat’s handbook for the twenty-first century. Contributors also illuminate lines of resistance, vulnerabilities and contradictions within the New Turkey under construction. Middle East Report 288 is partially available on-line with full access to all the articles available to our subscribers.
Aslı Bâli offers an incisive and detailed anatomy of Turkey’s 2017 constitutional coup: how Erdoğan used constitutional tools to dismantle Turkey’s parliamentary system from within and create a new form of constitutional authoritarianism.
Yahya Madra critically analyzes the roots of Turkey’s current economic crisis via the AKP’s embrace of a form of globalized neoliberal capitalism that is now at odds with Erdoğan’s electoral needs and authoritarian inclinations.
Evren Balta explains the dramatic shifts and abrupt reorientations of Turkish foreign policy over the past decade as a product of the AKP and Erdoğan’s populism: foreign policy deployed as a tool of governance to mobilize support, tarnish enemies and keep the AKP in power.
Cuma Ҫiçek provides a thorough overview of the transformation of Turkish-Kurdish politics since 1999, including promising but flawed peace initiatives, the impact of Rojava on Kurdish politics and the return to war in Turkey’s Kurdish regions.
Muzaffer Kaya offers a powerful assessment of the damage wrought by Turkey’s sustained state repression of higher education since 2015, including the purge of over 6,000 academics and university workers. (Available to Everyone)
Volkan Yılmaz uncovers the rising inequality and unfulfilled promises of economic justice that can be traced to the AKP’s embrace of market-led policies in housing and construction.
Sinan Erensü reveals a series of contradictions and vulnerabilities that afflict Turkey’s rapid expansion of energy infrastructure and its pursuit of energy independence, including rural environmental resistance and Turkey’s resistance to climate change initiatives.
Hikmet Kocamaner demonstrates how the AKP’s embrace of “family values” rhetoric and family-centered policies are central to its broader political and social vision predicated on neoconservative, neoliberal and neo-patriarchal rationalities.
Ayça Alemdaroğlu reveals how widespread youth disaffection with the AKP has led the Party to expand a parallel religious education system and increase investments in youth-centered organizations in an effort to overcome obstacles to its hegemony.
Mucahit Bilici unravels the surprising rise of heterodox religiosity and even atheism among pious Turkish youth in response to the instrumentalization of religion under the AKP and broader secularizing trends within Turkish society.
In an inspiring interview, the architect and activist Mücella Yapıcı discusses the still unwritten history of the Gezi Park protests, which, for a moment, revealed a new anti-authoritarian, multi-cultural and democratic Turkey that is yet to come. (Available to Everyone)
Subscribe to Middle East Report or order individual copies here.
Middle East Report is published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), a progressive, independent organization. Since 1971 MERIP has provided critical analysis of the Middle East, focusing on political economy, popular struggles and the implications of US foreign policy for the region.
Middle East Report Online is a free service of the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).
Harris Interviewed about University Museums
University of Mary Washington Museums Executive Director Scott Harris
Scott Harris, executive director of the University Museums recently appeared on WFVA’s Town Talk to morning talk about the Gari Melchers Home and Studio, and the James Monroe Museum. To listen to the interview, visit https://www.newstalk1230.net/episode/town-talk-jan-9-3/.
Crawley Appears on WFVA Radio
William B. Crawley, professor of history emeritus and director of the William B. Crawley Great Lives lecture series appeared recently on WFVA’s Town Talk to talk about the 2019 season that began earlier this week. Listen to his interview at https://www.newstalk1230.net/episode/town-talk-jan-14-2/.
Farnsworth Published in Washington Post
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is co-author of a Washington Post opinion column about how President Trump has fared on the late-night television comedy programs. The column, entitled “When Americans watch late-night comedy, the joke’s on Donald Trump,” contains research from Dr. Farnsworth’s Waple Fellowship project. To read the article, visit https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/08/when-americans-watch-late-night-comedy-the-jokes-on-donald-trump/?utm_term=.0addbc14c23e.
Vasey Provides Commentary on Religious Freedom
An op-ed written by Craig Vasey, professor of philosophy & chair of the Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religious Studies, appeared recently in The Free Lance-Star. To view the article, visit https://www.fredericksburg.com/opinion/columns/commentary-religious-freedom-has-been-a-civil-right-since-our/article_6f195b00-bec5-5263-ab79-c7b2d7c723b5.html
Larus Quoted in International Media
Elizabeth Larus, professor of political science, has been quoted in recently in international media concerning issues between Taiwan and China. In the Financial Times said China would probably seek to capitalize on a series of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) losses in local elections in November to sow discontent among Taiwanese and boost support for the China-friendly opposition party, the Kuomintang, ahead of the 2020 presidential election. “China’s leaders are like sharks in the water: they smell blood.” To view the article, go to
https://www.ft.com/content/5fbabb8c-10b1-11e9-a581-4ff78404524e.
She also provided comments in Agencia EFE. “China will not hesitate to militarize the artificial intelligence base in the Manila Trench, in fact, it has already militarized the artificial islands it has built, despite promises that it would not,” she said.
Tips For A Healthy New Year
Participate in Mary Wash Moves this month!
Mary Wash Moves is UMW’s employee walking challenge, brought to you by the President’s Council on Wellness, Campus Recreation and Human Resources. Let’s show off how much Mary Wash Moves! Grab your walking shoes and get ready to rack up the steps this winter with your UMW colleagues.
How It Works:
- Dates: January 14 – February 14, 2019
- Teams: There are six teams and up to 25 people per team. You may sign up for your team by writing your name on the team color tab you choose on the tracking document.
- How to win: Log your total steps walked each day in the official tracking document. The team color with the highest step average between all active team mates by the end of the challenge wins!
- How to track your steps: Use a FitBit, Apple Watch, iPhone, or other step tracking device!
- Prize: A free lunch sponsored by Human Resources and a free fitness experience sponsored by Campus Recreation!
Tips for a Healthy New Year
- Find exercise that is fun for you! It will be easier to stick to. Consider participating in a UMW faculty/staff private fitness program like Lunchtime Yoga, Lunch Bunch, or Early Bird Fitness, or try out one of Campus Rec’s group fitness classes or intramural sports.
- Focus on your eating habits and identify ways you can improve, such as eating proper-sized portions, scaling back on soda or other beverages, cooking at home with fresh ingredients more often, and consuming less fast food.
- Find an accountability buddy to talk about health with, to cheer you on, to exercise with you, and to let you brag and complain to. Having a partner in the process is very helpful in staying on track!
- Try packing your lunch more often and including 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, and 1 lean protein in your meal.
- Set an alarm for when you should begin getting ready for bed so you can get adequate sleep this year!
President’s Council on Wellness
The council has been working hard to make Mary Wash a happier, healthier place to work and learn. If you’re interested in participating in the work we’re doing, join us for our first large meeting of the semester on February 14 from 12-2pm in the Chandler Ballroom.
The Wash Post
Have you seen the bathroom newsletter in many buildings across campus? If not, take a look at January’s edition on taking care of yourself!
January Edition of The Wash Post
This message was sent to you from the President’s Council on Wellness. If you have further questions, please email wellness@umw.edu.
Folger Librarian to Talk on Images of Macbeth
Ms. Rachel Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C., will give a public talk on Thursday, January 31. Ms. Dankert’s talk has its origins in her research on the Painting Shakespeare exhibition held at the Folger in Spring 2018 and will explore depictions in art of the witches in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. The lecture is generously funded by the Wendy J. Shadwell ’63 Endowment and jointly sponsored by the Departments of Art & Art History, and of English, Communication, and Linguistics.
Henry Fuseli, “Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head” (1793, Folger Shakespeare Library)
Ms. Rachel Dankert
Folger Shakespeare Library
The very painting of your fear: envisioning Macbeth and the witches
Thursday, January 31, 5 p.m.
Hurley Convergence Center (HCC) Digital Auditorium
Funding thanks to the Wendy J. Shadwell ’63 Endowment; jointly sponsored by the Departments of Art & Art History and of English, Linguistics, and Communication