ASBEN Blog

H ello everyone! I am Hacer Elmaci. I received a bachelor's degree in History from Ankara University, Faculty of Language and History, Geography, my first master's degree in Contemporary History at Gazi University in Turkey, and my second master's degree in International Studies at the University of   Tsukuba in Japan.   I am currently a first-year Ph.D. researcher in Japanese Studies at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. My research areas are Gender and Women Studies, Modern Japanese History, Japanese Nationalism and Imperialism, Modernization, Education, History Textbooks, Turkish-Japanese Relations. My studies are funded by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education Scholarship Program, the YLSY. First of all, I would like to thank Ankara Social Sciences University Institute for  Regional Studies for allowing us to share our experiences. My academic journey started at Ankara University. I completed my BA degree at the Department of History.  I stay

  Hello everyone!  I am Ibrahim Akbas from China Studies. I do conduct my PhD research on Chinese public diplomacy in the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). As China rises in world politics, understanding how China talks with foreign audiences has become crucially important. I analyze China’s public diplomacy discourse on Islam and Muslims; and try to find out answers to how Muslim audiences interpret China’s messages. Today, diplomatic communication is a two-way road. Thus, perceptions of the foreign audiences are as important as the way a state talks to foreign publics. Learning the unlearned through studying abroad has always been my great enthusiasm. During my bachelor years, I was an exchange student in Lomonosov Moscow State University. After graduating from International Relations in Ankara University, I started to Eurasian Studies MSc program in the Middle East Technical University (METU), as Eurasian politics was my main academic interest at those times. However,