Gender, Public Space and Resistance

On May 27, 2013 at 11:30 pm bulldozers drove into Gezi, a central park in Taksim, Istanbul, to uproot five trees in preparation for future construction. Plans for the redevelopment had been announced two years before by the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and in response, two local activist groups had been formed: 'Taksim Solidarity' and the 'Society for the Preservation and Beautification of Gezi Park'. Founded to to publicise the historical status of the park and protect what remains a symbolically important site - and one of the few recreation areas in the central area of Istanbul - members of these groups were amongst the first to protest as the bulldozers rolled in. Within hours, a group of twenty to thirty activists had begun a sit-in. In the coming days, as the number of demonstrators increased to hundreds, the 'resistance' spread to other neighbourhoods in Istanbul. It also manifest itself in other cities across the country. The small scale sit-in that commenced in the night of May 27th had become a catalyst for a nationwide movement with global repercussions. It subsequently became known, interchangeably, as the Gezi movement, the Gezi resistance and Gezi events. The space of the protests was no longer bounded by Gezi Park itself, and the movement was no longer limited to a specific and local planning agenda. Taking criticism of the renovation plans for Taksim as their starting point, the protesters also raised their voices against what they considered the authoritarian policies of the the conservative government and, more specifically, the social pronouncements of the Prime Minister. The governmental response was violent police intervention. Within a month, five protesters and one policeman had died, hundreds of others were injured, and many protestors were arrested across the country. In the midst of what the government defined as anarchy and subversive acts, multiple social and cultural assumptions were overturned and, in Deleuze and Guattari's terms, events and behaviours were deterritiorialized. Transient actions in established spaces smoothed the striated spaces of government planning and, equally significantly, a radical and momentary reconceptualisation of gendered roles and spaces was established

Living in purgatory: homelessness amidst urban regeneration in Salhane, İzmir

This article analyzes the effects of urban regeneration on the everyday lives and subjectivities of the residents of Salhane, which was announced to be Izmir's new city center in 2001. Folkart Towers, which were completed in 2014, are the first mixed-use buildings in the area. Surrounded by warehouses and a slum neighbourhood on two sides, the latter consists of twin towers which accommodate offices, residences and a broad range of commercial facilities. Folkart Towers lead radical economic, social and cultural transformations in the area where the construction of numerous eye-catching skyscapers, shopping centers and luxury residences are in the pipeline. The seemingly extravagant lifestyle that is represented by the twin towers is very different than the harsh living conditions of its neighbouring slum area. At first sight the difference may be explained by such binary terms as rich/poor, privileged/marginal, urban/rural and planned/unplanned. However a deeper analysis reveals a more complicated and multi-layered situation. The present study on the subjectivities and everyday lives of Folkart Towers and slum residents is informed by both field work that has been conducted in the area and psychoanalytical theories of subjectivity, which consider the relationship between its visual and sensational components. Research reveals that both components of the subjectivities of the residents of Folkart Towers and the slum neighbourhood are effected by the regeneration processes in Salhane whereby all parties experience homelessness in different ways. This article provides a framework for the analysis of the selationship between subjectivity and space in general and the effects of Salhane's urban regeneration on its inhabitants' subjectivities in particular.Publisher's Versio

Silent interruptions: urban encounters with rural Turkey

Donated by Klaus KreiserReprinted from in : Rethinking modernity and national identity in Turkey : University of Washington Press, 1997

Lung cancer from suspicion to treatment: An indicator of healthcare access in Turkey

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Before beginning lung cancer treatment, it is necessary to complete procedures such as suspecting lung cancer, obtaining a pathologic diagnosis, and staging. This study aimed to investigate the processes from suspicion of lung cancer to diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation. Methods: The study was designed as a multicenter and cross-sectional study. Patients with lung cancer from various health institutions located in all geographic regions of Turkey were included in the study. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, the characteristics of the health institutions and geographic regions, and other variables of the lung cancer process were recorded. The time from suspicion of lung cancer to pathologic diagnosis, radiologic staging, and treatment initiation, as well as influencing factors, were investigated. Results: The study included 1410 patients from 29 different medical centers. The mean time from the initial suspicion of lung cancer to the pathologic diagnosis was 48.0 ± 52.6 days, 39.0 ± 52.7 days for radiologic staging, and 74.9 ± 65.5 days for treatment initiation. The residential areas with the most suspected lung cancer cases were highly developed socioeconomic zones. Primary healthcare services accounted for only 0.4% of patients with suspected lung cancer. The time to pathologic diagnosis was longer in the Marmara region, and the wait time for staging and treatment initiation was longer in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. Patients who presented to chest disease referral hospitals with peripheral lesions, those with early-stage disease, and those who were diagnosed surgically had significantly longer wait times. Conclusion: The time between pathologic diagnosis, staging, and treatment initiation in lung cancer was longer than expected. Increasing the role of primary healthcare services and distributing socioeconomic resources more equally will contribute to shortening the time to diagnosis and improve treatment processes for lung cancer

Epidemiological, Clinical, and Laboratory Features of Children With COVID-19 in Turkey

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children