sociology conference at Galatasaray University

Galatasaray University and the Association of French Speaking Sociologists have organized an international conference in Istanbul between 12 and 14 May 2005. The focus and the main theme of the conference was New Socialities/Communalities in a Fragmented Era. The conference lasted for three days with excellent paper presenatians both in French and in Turkish. Young sociologists seemed to be very promising in their research and argumentation. The conference touched upon numerous topics such as migration, youth culture, identity construction, gender issues, the media, communication, life cycles, education, urbanization, love, nation state, religion and secularizm. I presented a paper on secularization theory and its critics. It seemed to me that papers on religion, secularizm and Islam received more attention than other papers. What was the most beautiful aspect of the conference was the location of the university and efforts of hosting students. Students did a great job. They were smart and very helpful all the time. moreover, the University provided really delicious lunch for the participants right next to the bosphorous. if you have lunch in a restaurant with a similar view you have to pay a fortune. Students and academics at this university are really like be in such a breathtaking location. the conference ended with a boat tour. organizers deserverd our sincere "thanks". I hope some of the papers will be published so that discussions can go beyond the confines of the conference halls.