Why did you choose Comparative Cultural Analysis?

‘I did my Bachelor’s in Western Languages and Literature at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey. Together with my major in literature, I did two minors: American Studies and Copywriting. Studying literary analysis, methodologically, was not so different from studying cultural analysis. Also, literature is one of the main objects of cultural analysis. However, I wanted to broaden my analytical focus to include other cultural objects, so I ended up choosing Comparative Cultural Analysis.’

What do you learn in Comparative Cultural Analysis?

‘The first surprising thing to learn is that culture is much more comprehensive than one might think. It might be easy to consider and analyse a painting as a cultural object, but in this programme, you also study other objects such as roads and bridges with a culturally analytical lens. Training that lens gives everything more meaning. You start questioning your previous perception of and intimacy with everything. Human interactions, activities, social movements, arts, and sciences acquire more depth.’

What do you think of Amsterdam to study Comparative Cultural Analysis in?

‘“Culture” was the keyword in my mind while searching for a Master’s programme. However, never did I guess that Amsterdam would be such a good place to study culture. Amsterdam’s multiculturalist atmosphere provided me with ample opportunities to observe in everyday life what I learnt within the classroom. It is the place to focus comparatively on what we term as “culture.”’

Do you have freedom of choice within Comparative Cultural Analysis?

‘The most interesting thing about studying Comparative Cultural Analysis is the broadness of the subject. As I said, everything is cultural. What matters is the method of cultural analysis. The programme trains your critical and analytical eye to look at cultural objects with more depth. With the methods learnt, you are free to focus on any object or on any academic or theoretical field.’

What is the atmosphere like?

‘Because the subject is broad, all students have different backgrounds. Our classes had such different academic fields ranging from political economy to environmental studies, from trans studies to decoloniality. When we had a discussion about, let’s say, migration, we had all the relevant perspectives in the room to analyse it.’