ATFC × Emory University
25 Years of the Turkish Lecture
2001–2026
SIGNATURE ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP
Twenty-five years of scholarship, dialogue, and friendship.
Emory University’s annual Turkish Lecture Series is presented by the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning in partnership with the American Turkish Friendship Council. The series welcomes students, faculty, staff, and members of the Atlanta community to engage with leading voices in Ottoman and Turkish studies.
EMORY NEWS FEATURE · APRIL 27, 2026 · SOPHIA NEITSCH
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP
The Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning and ATFC
Together, the Halle Institute and the American Turkish Friendship Council have created a distinguished Atlanta forum connecting Emory’s academic community with leading voices in Ottoman and Turkish studies.
Selim S. Kuru delivers the 2026 Turkish Lecture at Emory University.
2026 DISTINGUISHED GUEST SPEAKER
Selim S. Kuru
Associate Professor and Director of the Turkish and Ottoman Studies Program, University of Washington
LECTURE TOPIC
“Obscene Wit in Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Literature: Enderûnlu Fâzıl on Beloveds and Women of the World”
Professor Kuru shared insights into Turkish literature and history, continuing the series’ tradition of bringing prominent intellectuals to Emory for serious, accessible public conversation.
01 – Distinguished voices
Each year, the series invites prominent scholars and public intellectuals to share new perspectives. Past guests have included:
- Review our comprehensive directory of previous presenters below.
02 – Ideas with range
Lectures have explored business and trade, history, politics, literature, and culture—showing the depth and complexity of Türkiye and its place in the world.
Business
Culture
History
Politics
03 – A forum for Atlanta
The program creates a shared space for scholars, students, university colleagues, and the broader Atlanta community to learn together and build stronger cross-cultural relationships.
A MILESTONE OF LASTING IMPACT
Honoring the founder of the LECTURE SERIES.
The 2026 lecture marked the program’s 25th anniversary. Jane Gatewood, vice provost for Emory Global Engagement, presented an award to ATFC founder Mona Diamond Sunshine recognizing her role in establishing the Turkish Lecture Series and her enduring commitment to cross-cultural academic exchange.
Julia Bullock, director of the Halle Institute, described the Turkish Lecture as a strong example of Emory’s global mission: bringing scholars and public intellectuals to campus to share ideas with both Emory and the wider Atlanta community.
Meet the Director
Julia Bullock, Professor of Japanese Language and Literature, Emory University
Dr. Julia Bullock became director of the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning in 2023. An Emory professor of Japanese language and literature, she specializes in modern Japanese literature from the Meiji era to the present, with particular interests in gender, sexuality, feminism, film, popular culture, and translation.
Before leading the Halle Institute, Dr. Bullock chaired Emory’s Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures. Her leadership strengthened the curriculum, expanded Emory’s engagement in Asia, and helped secure outside support for new faculty positions and broader international academic connections.
Her scholarship is recognized internationally across East Asia, Europe, and North America. She is the author or co-editor of several influential works and is currently developing a new study of Simone de Beauvoir’s influence on postwar Japanese feminism.
AUTHOR
The Other Women’s Lib
AUTHOR
Coeds Ruining the Nation
CURRENT PROJECT
Beauvoir in Japan
Through the long-standing partnership between the Halle Institute and ATFC, the Turkish Lecture Series brings distinguished scholars and public intellectuals to Atlanta for thoughtful dialogue about Türkiye, its history, culture, and place in the world.
Past Turkish Lecture Series Speakers
Date
Speaker
Title of Talk
April 15, 2024
Christine Philliou, Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Biography of an Empire: Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution
An Old Story: Turkey's Relationship to the Ottoman Past
April 12, 2023
Baki Tezcan, professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and current President of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association
Halide Edib, Ottoman Armenians, and the Wilsonian Principles: The Alternative Post-World War I History that Never Happened
February 4, 2020
Elif Batuman, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of two critically acclaimed books - The Possessed and The Idiot
An Afternoon with Elif Batuman
February 6, 2019
Kemal Kirisci, TUSIAD senior fellow and director of the Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey Project, at the Brookings Institution
Turbulent Times: Turkey's Tenuous Relationship with the West
February 19, 2018
Steven A. Cook, PhD, Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Is Turkey a Democracy?
December 1, 2016
Soner Çağaptay, Beyer Family Fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute
Turkish Foreign Relations: the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East
November 18, 2015
Sinan Ciddi, Executive Director, The Institute of Turkish Studies, Georgetown University
Turkey: A Reliable Ally to Combat ISIS?
March 27, 2014
Bulent Aliriza, Founding Director, The Turkey Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Turkey's Challenges in 2014 (Video)
September 21, 2012
M. Hakan Yavuz, Professor of Political Science, Middle East Center, University of Utah
Political Islam and Secularism in Turkey
November 9, 2011
Namik Tan, Ambassador of Turkey to the United States
Turkey-U.S. Relations
February 3, 2010
Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Global Women's Issues
November 24, 2008
Nabi Sensoy, Ambassador of Turkey to the United States
Turkey's Foreign Policy, Linked Between the Regional and the Global
September 18, 2007
Ali Carkoglu, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University (Istanbul, Turkey)
Turkish Elections 2007: A Beginning or an End of an Electoral Process?
November 9, 2006
Murat Sungar, First Deputy Secretary General, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation; Former Ambassador of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Geneva
Turkey and the U.S.: An Important Relationship for the Black Sea Region
October 17, 2006
Soner Cagaptay, Senior Fellow and Director, Turkish Research Program, Washington Institute
Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who Is a Turk?