HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF ABJECTION: THE ARMENIAN MEMORY IN CONTEMPORARY TURKISH PUBLIC THEATRE (original) (raw)

This thesis project started in medias res, building on the theoretical and methodological groundwork of Prof. Rüstem Ertuğ Altınay's European Research Council Starting Grant-funded project, Staging National Abjection: Theatre and Politics in Turkey and Its Diasporas. Without the generous support of the European Research Council and the meticulous guidance of Prof. Altınay, I would not be able to begin or complete my research in any way. I am deeply grateful for all the suggestions, mentoring, and informative and delightful conversations we shared with Prof. Altınay. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to Prof. Afife İdil Akın, who came to my rescue amidst a bureaucratic crisis and accepted to become my thesis advisor. Prof. Akın was always patient with my questions and generous with her precious time. Additionally, I am indebted to members of my defense committee, Prof. Özen Baş, Prof. Murat Cankara, and Prof. Emine Fişek, for their invaluable contributions to the completion of this thesis. My academic journey started at Boğaziçi University. Every professor I met in this institution guided my whole educational and professional life in various ways; however, three names stand out from this long list: Dr. Esra Dicle, Prof. Emine Fişek, and Prof. Aslı Tekinay, whose courses and guidance have led me to pursue my deep interest in drama, theatre, and performance. Prof. Fişek has been my mentor over the years well after she was my senior thesis advisor, and in fact, if she had not informed me about the Communication Studies Master's Program at Kadir Has University and the Staging Abjection project, I could have quit my deep passion for academia at this point. The years I pursued my Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies at Kadir Has University have broadened my perspective and improved my methodological and theoretical approach to academic research, not only via graduate courses but also through my professional interactions with the members of Kadir Has University. Prof.