Turkish Academics in America - Turk of America

Father of Teen Killed in Gaza Flotilla Raid Seeks American Justice

Professor Ahmet Doğan, whose 19-year-old son Furkan was killed aboard during the Israeli army raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla from Turkey in May, is in Washington in an attempt to convince American officials to open an investigation into the raid.

Furkan was an American citizen who was born in the U.S. His father will be meeting with Congress members Tuesday and on Wednesday speak with members of the State Department and the Ministry of Justice.

The Mavi Marmara was part of six-boat flotilla that was heading for Gaza from Turkey. Israeli naval troops boarded the boat on May 31, 2010. The activists on board the boat resisted, and nine people were killed.

February 24, 2011
Published in Academicians
Written by Admin TOA

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The Sephardi Diaspora

Randall C. Belinfante

By Randall C. Belinfante*
The exodus of the Jews from Spain began not in 1492, as many believe, but in 1391, when serious anti-Jewish riots broke out in Toledo and Seville. In striving to convert the entire nation to the Catholic Christian faith, the Spanish leaders forced thousands of Jews to convert. Many others fled the country. Those that had converted came to be known as New Christians or Marranos (meaning “pig”). It was this group that was to become a target of the Inquisition, an organization charged with ensuring adherence to orthodox practice among Catholics but which also set about preventing people from backsliding into their “heathen” faiths.

October 5, 2009
Published in Academicians
Written by Admin TOA

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"Taking Refuge under the Crescent and Star"

The racist ideologies that began to take hold in Europe in the pre-World War II period led to the fight of many scientists and artists. Professor Faruk Şen has now searched the memoirs of those intellectuals who sought refuge in Turkey, perused government documents and held interviews with living witnesses of the period and has compiled this research into a book that he calls “Ay – Yıldız Altında Sürgün” (“Taking Refuge under the Crescent and Star”), published by Günizi Publishing.

August 29, 2008
Published in Academicians
Written by Admin TOA

Brain Drain -Is a Problem or an Advantage?

Ayşe Önal Zamboğlu-
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Brain drain has been a hot topic of discussion for many years in Turkey. Many have studied it sociologically and discussed it from different angles. Was it the economical crisis or uncertainty that drove young people abroad, or the quality of graduate schools abroad, or the wide array of opportunities in various technical fields?

June 15, 2008
Published in Academicians
Written by Ayse Onal Z.

Father-Figure of the Turkish Students in Boston

Mustafa Oğuz Aykaç – Boston
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The number of Turkish students at Northeastern University is about 150, which is the fourth largest international student population at this institution. Boston particularly is regarded as an academic city with all its famous universities – Harvard, MIT Boston College, and Northeastern.

October 14, 2006
Published in Academicians
Written by Mustafa Aykac

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Searching for Noah's Ark

Ali Çınar – Connecticut
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Like the lost continent Atlantis and Mu, or the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail, Noah’s Ark is undoubtedly on the list of missing treasures of the world. To date, many scientists have searched for the Ark, which is claimed to be atop Turkey’s highest mountain, Mount Ağrı, yet none of them have come up with any conclusive findings.

October 14, 2006
Published in Academicians
Written by

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The Future of Tourism and Turkey

Muzaffer S. Uysal
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Today, tourism, with its complex social, economic and physical impact, has become an international phenomenon, and is one of the largest and most rapidly growing industries in the international market. Now, tourism is a very competitive business. It is no longer a supply driven sector but a demand driven market.

July 15, 2005
Published in Academicians
Written by Admin TOA

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People Are Starting to Control The Media

By Müge Mengü – New York
It’s obvious that we’re in the digital era. Technology is under our control, and we can choose the kind of media to come in contact with, as well as how and when to come in contact with it. Studies show that day by day, consumers are going to war against media ads.

July 15, 2005
Published in Academicians
Written by Muge Mengu

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An Inventor Seeks An Investor

The classical method used to understand the growth or shrinkage of cancerous tumors in laboratory animals is being turned into history by scientist Cem Girit’s invention. Dr. Girit needs a source of 3 million dollars to mass produce his invention.

July 15, 2005
Published in Academicians
Written by Admin TOA

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Can You Draw Me a Heart Operation?

He was born the third of five children, in Duden, a small village of the Yesilova Borough of Burdur, a gateway town to the Mediterranean, Aegean and central parts of Turkey. His father was the imam of the village and a traveling drapery seller, his mother the tailor of the village.