Speaker: Besim F. Dellaloğlu
Moderator: Emre Şan
In an ancient language the word “critique” was used to refer to the process of sieving. And “criterion” was the name of the instrument used for sifting. “Crisis”, on the other hand, was used to describe the situation of being unable to perform a “critique” due to a malfunction of the “criterion”, the instrument of sifting. It is also rumoured that in Japanese, “crisis” and “opportunity” are expressed with one and the same word. In recent years, we are witnessing that the concept of “civilisation” is being used rather extensively in the world of thought, at universities, and even in politics. On the other hand, the phrase “Cultural Power” has become one of the most commonly used terms in the cultural public sphere. Could it be possible to make a reading of just these small details as signs of a crisis that we have been experiencing lately? For instance, could the extensive use of the concept of “civilisation” be an indication of a crisis in itself? Is it possible to consider the struggle for “Cultural Power” as the implementation of a critique through certain criteria? Can the triplet of crisis, critique and criterion render the relations and the transitions between culture and civilisation more understandable?
Besim F. Dellaloğlu was born in 1965 in Istanbul. He graduated from Galatasaray High School in 1984, and completed his undergraduate studies at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of Boğaziçi University in 1990. He pursued his master’s and doctoral studies at Mimar Sinan University in the field of Sociology under the guidance of his advisor, philosopher Ömer Naci Soykan. During his undergraduate and graduate studies, for an extensive period of time he worked as a French-speaking tourist guide. He toured most of the country. He conducted postdoctoral research and gave lessons at Goethe University Frankfurt (1998), University of Paris VIII (2002), University of Lisbon (2014), University of Strasbourg (2017-2018), and at Gutenberg University Mainz (2018-2019). As a result of these occasions, from time to time he has lived in Frankfurt, Paris, Lisbon, Strasbourg, and Mainz. In Turkey, he gave lectures at Mimar Sinan University, Marmara University, Istanbul Bilgi University, Yıldız Technical University, Galatasaray University, Kırklareli University, Istanbul University, and Sakarya University. In 2019, he retired from the university. He continues to pursue the life of a scholar. Some of the books he has authored are: Frankfurt Okulu’nda Sanat ve Toplum [Art and Society at Frankfurt School] (Say), Romantik Muamma [Romantic Enigma] (Ayrıntı), Benjamin (Edited Book-Say), Benjaminia: Dil, Tarih ve Coğrafya [Benjaminia: Language, History and Geography] (Ayrıntı), Modernleşmenin Zihniyet Dünyası: Bir Tanpınar Fetişizmi [The Mindset of Modernisation: A Tanpınar Fetishism] (Kadim), Zamanın İçinden Zamanın Dışından [Within Time Without Time] (Heretik).
The event is free of charge. Invitations available from the Akbank Sanat ticket office on the event day, one hour before the event begins.
The seminar of Besim F. Dellaloğlu, which is planned to take place on Thursday, March 12 within the scope of Philosophy Seminars, has been postponed to a later date. Thank you for your understanding and your interest.