KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF TURKEY IN A COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES

Abdullah Yuvacı; William Bowles

KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF TURKEY IN A COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES

Yıl 2011, Sayı: 38, 61 - 77, 14.05.2015

Öz

This study is an attempt to explore to what degree students from an American college are knowledgeable of Turkey and how they perceive the country. The paper also explores why some students are more likely than others to have a positive view of Turkey. Although these students represent neither the American public nor American university students as a whole, understanding their knowledge and perception of Turkey may help us gain insight into the country’s distinguishability and overall image in the United States. This paper finds that most students are indifferent to and/or little informed about Turkey. It also shows that previous visitation experience, informational familiarity, Democratic Party affiliation and whether a student thinks of Turkey as a democratic country are related to their positive perception of Turkey.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Perception of Turkey; Knowledge on Turkey; Turkey’s Image in the United States; Attitudes towards Turkey.

Kaynakça

ALTINBAŞAK, İpek; (2008), “Understanding the prejudices in order to improve the image of Turkey: A qualitative study on the prejudices of Italians about Turkey”, Boğaziçi Journal: Review of Social, Economic and Administrative Studies, 22(1-2), pp. 35-51.
BALOĞLU, Şeyhmus; (2001), “Image variations of Turkey by familiarity index: informational and experiential dimensions”,Tourism Management, 22(2), pp. 127-133.
BURNS, Nicholas R; (2007, September 13), “The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship, Remarks at the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS)”, U.S. Department of State, Internet Address: http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2007/92066.htm, Date of Access: June 18, 2008
BURNS, Nicholas; (2005, July 18), “The U.S.-Turkish Relationship beyond Iraq: Common Values, Common Agenda (full transcript)”, Washington Institute, Internet Address: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC07.php?CID=24, Date of Access: August 3, 2008.
ÇAĞRI, Erhan; (2000), “The American Perception of the Turks: An Historical Record”, The Turkish Yearbook, 31(2), pp. 75-97.
ÇAKMAK, Cenap; (2008, February 17), “Türkiye'ninABD’dekiİmajıSorunu“, BILGESAM, Internet Address: http://www.bilgesam.com/tr/ index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=77:tuerkiyenin- abddeki-maj-sorunu&catid=98:analizler-abd&Itemid=135, Date of Access: April 29, 2010.
CNN; (2006, May 4), “Study: Geography Greek to young Americans”, Internet Address: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/, Date of Access: October 22, 2010.
GAMAREKIAN, Barbara; (1987, January 20), “Washington Talk: Embassy Row; Turkey Focuses on Its Image”, The New York Times, Internet Address: http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/20/us/washington-talk- embassy-row-turkey-focuses-on-its-image.html?pagewanted=1, Date of Access: May 2, 2010.
GRIES, Peter Hays and H. Michael CROWSON; (2010), “Political Orientation, Party Affiliation, and American Attitudes Towards China”, Journal of Chinese Political Science, 15(3), pp. 219-244.
HOGE, Warren; (2005, June 11), “Turkish Leader Spells out More Vigorous Role in Iraq”, The New York Times, Internet Address: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6D71138F93 2A25755C0A9639C8B63&scp=4&sq= 2005%20Turkey%20allows %20 supplies%20to%20US%20military%20Iraq&st=cse, Date of Access: May 24, 2010.
KAĞITÇIBAŞI, Çiğdem; (1973), Gençlerin Tutumları: Kültürler Arası bir Karşılaştırma, Ankara: ODTÜ Fen-Ed. Fak. Yayınları, No. 25.
KARLINS, Marvin, Thomas L. COFFMAN and Gary WALTERS; (1969), “On the Fading of Social Stereotypes: Studies in three generations of college students”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, pp. 1-16.
MOORE, David M.; (2002, March 5), “Americans More Unfavorable Than Favorable Toward Muslim Countries.” Gallup News Service, Internet Address:http://www.gallup.com/poll/5428/americans-more- unfavorable-than-favorable-toward-muslim-countries.aspx,Date of Access: April 29, 2010.
ÖZTÜRK, İbrahim; (2009, December 10), “Model OrtaklığınEkonomisi”, Zaman.
PETHOKOUKIS, James; (2005, December 2), “Small Biz Watch: Studies show effectiveness of word of mouth”, U.S. News & World Report, Internet Address: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/ articles/051202/ 2sbw.html, Date of Access: February 20, 2011.
PRESTON, Mark; (2009, April 7), “Poll: U.S. Split on Muslim Allies”, CNN Online, Internet Address: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS /04/06/us.muslim.poll/, Date of Access: May 11, 2010.
WEISMAN, Steven R.; (2003, April 3), “A Nation at War: Diplomacy; Powell Patches Things Up, As Turkey Consents to Help”, The New York Times, Internet Address: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/ world/a-nation-at-war-diplomacy-powell-patches-things-up-as- turkey-consents-tohelp.html?scp=4&sq=turkey% 20supply%20U.S.%20american%20military%20war%20iraq&st=cs e, Date of Access: May 24, 2010.