On Saturday, November 12, 2022, the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the Washington sponsored an event celebrating the research and archival work directed by Dr. Melike Yücel-Koç entitled Turkey in Seattle: An Oral History Project. This project focuses on the lives of immigrants from Turkey through the recording, documenting, and cataloging of interviews that Dr. Yücel-Koç has been conducting since 2017 with the help of many student volunteers.
The launch event featured a cocktail hour reception, attended by many participants in the study as well as many from the Turkish American community in Seattle. The evening started with an introduction from Dr. Selim Kuru, followed by a project overview and unveiling from Dr. Yücel-Koç herself. Her remarks were followed by a short documentary, which was constructed from five of the participants’ interviews by graduate student Cara Reed-Ferrara. Following this, many of the projects’ participants were able to stand up and interact with the audience.
Online (https://depts.washington.edu/turkeyinseattle/ ) you can access the project website that hosts recorded interviews from the participants, as well as a digital library that has been carefully curated over the years and contact information for potential participants to volunteer to contribute to the project. If you have any questions, or if you want to volunteer or support the project, please contact Dr. Yücel-Koç at yucelm@uw.edu.