Evren Savcı’s Queer in Translation presents an alternative, both in methodology and analysis, to the Orientalist analytical frameworks typical of Western scholars studying queer politics in Middle Eastern regions. Specifically, Savcı analyzes the rise of Turkey’s Adalet ve Kalınma Partisi (AKP; in English, the Justice and Development Party) to show how the AKP’s increased securitization and oppression of marginalized communities—including, but not limited to, Turkey’s LGBTQ community—is the result of the marriage of Islam and neoliberalism. Savci produces compelling case studies that reveal how Turkey’s weaponization of religion, morality, and capitalism serve to secure the nation against dissenting citizens. From the discourse surrounding the complicated murder of a gay Kurdish man, to unlikely solidarities between religious hijabi women and LGBTQ activists, and the public commons that became Gezi Park, Savci’s critical translation methods reveal how the language to construct and resist securitization in Turkey are far more nuanced than simple attribution to solely Islamist extremism or Western neoliberal influence.
Articles by Leelan Farhan
Leelan Farhan (she/her) is a fourth-year PhD Candidate in Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. She also holds a Master of Information from the University of Toronto. Her doctoral work explores the creation of online, student-led, sexual violence prevention programs for university campuses using survivor-centered and interdisciplinary research methods. More broadly, her research interests can be found at the intersection of community activism, digital spaces, and feminist technologies. She is also a student representative on the Cultural Studies Association's Governing Board.