UPENN-Sabancı Joint Teaching Activities and Study Visits

Professor Meltem Muftuler-Bac, Sabancı University and Beth Simmons, Andrea Mitchell Professor of International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania offered a joint course on International Borders in an Age of Anxiety for UPENN and Sabanci students in Fall 2019. As part of course requirements, 18 UPenn students visited the Sabanci campus from January 4 to 13 for joint activities with Sabancı students.  The field research component of the course was carried out with multiple activities in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. First, students from UPENN and Sabancı University presented their joint studies and an international memo they have co-authored during the semester. They participated in briefings conducted at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, EU Affairs, and the European Union Delegation in Ankara, met with the American General Consul in Istanbul, and conducted focus groups with Syrian refugees in Istanbul. Finally, they visited the Directorate of Migration and Harmandali Deportation Centre in Izmir. The field research and joint activities enabled the students to witness on a firsthand basis how what they study in class is reflected in real life.