After the Constitutional Court in Turkey confirmed in July what we always knew, that a petition calling for peace is not a crime, courts across Turkey are now acquitting Academics for Peace of terrorism charges. We stand behind our colleagues and their right to freedom of expression and free academia without persecution. Despite these acquittals hundreds of academics are still banned from working in public institutions and Universities, and the struggle for academic freedom and truth is far from over. Only recently it was announced that Dr. Bülent Şık is facing up to twelve years in jail for “disclosing classified information” after sharing his research which exposes toxic pollution that was a risk to public health.
Off-University is excited to announce that we continue to host new courses by at risk scholars on our learning platform! This Winter Semester we are hosting eight online courses taught by persecuted academics in Turkey and organised in collaboration with the New University in Exile Consortium at the New School, the Free University of Berlin, Kassel University, Potsdam University, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Göttingen University and Humboldt University Berlin.
Off-University’s winter semester courses are on the following topics:
Comparative History of the Modern Middle East
Homelessness and Homemaking
Identity and Conflict in the Middle East
Media and Discrimination
Political Economy of the Global South in the Age of Financialisation
Right and Violation
Social Welfare Labor and State in Turkey
Global Political Economy: Evolution and Dynamics
Online courses are held by academics that have been purged from their institutions, forced to resign, and politically persecuted due to their opinion and research in Turkey.
In collaboration with partner universities, Off-University provides certificates of achievement and the equivalence in ECTS points for those who fulfil the course requirements. Participation in the online courses does not depend on formal academic degrees and is free of tuition. Off-University protects learners and does no collect data of participants.
Off-University hosts the online courses on its platform ‘Coworkingsquares’ Off-University’s which offers a virtual classroom including chat options, video livestream, a virtual blackboard and a shared file management system designed for participative and horizontal co-learning. Students can access the course materials and video lectures on the platform, and students join online class discussions with the lecturer once a week.
Our first research course “Homelesseness and Homemaking: On Different Meanings of the Home Space” started on September 30 th. We are excited to be welcoming students from around the world who have already enrolled on our courses.
For more information and press inquiries please contact us here:
Email: mail@off-university.de
Source: https://off-university.com/en-US