11/04/2013
Kelly Todd Brewer: “I’m not a special teacher; I just do what I saw the teachers in my family do. I remember what my aunt, grandfather and grandmother did when I was growing up, and go along the same lines. Most importantly, I grew up in an environment with great teacher storytellers. Comical teachers we might say. I learn a lot from my students; they are the ones who teach me most about Turkey, its people and its culture.”
I know you used to play the saz 6-7 years ago, but now you don’t; I’ve heard that you play the guitar and have a reggae band.
Yes, I joined a band.
So you give concerts too?
Yes, we performed at Mask and Nayah, and then three times in reggae festivals. The first was Adrasan, Antalya; the Unite in Paradise Reggae Festival. Our last gig was at Babylon; it was my first time playing there.
That’s great. Speaking about your band, does it have a name?
Yes, “Come Again”.
Come Again as in tell me again?
No, it’s kind of a technical term. You begin the song, and then say “come again” and restart. It’s an old reggae trick to get the audience involved in the song.
Who else is in the band, anyone we know?
I didn’t know these people beforehand, I was part of some other group 4 years ago, doing vocals and playing the guitar.
Sounds like you have a lot of experience in music.
Once we played at the same venue with Come Again, and when my old band dissolved shortly after that performance due to some difficulties, Come Again members asked whether I would sing in their band. That’s when I joined.
You’ve been in Turkey and at Sabancı University for 10 years. Can you talk about the lectures you give this semester?
This semester I give HUM 241 Major Works in Short Fiction and HUM 211 Major Works of Literature – The Fantastic. The former deals mostly with Southern United States and Latin America. The latter is on utopia/dystopia and European and Latin American politics. In both courses, we discuss some of the key concepts in social sciences and literature, and investigate how these translate to the Turkish case. Because of this, I think I learn more from my students than they learn from me. You can say I take a course in “Anatolian Studies” from them.
I asked around to know more about your relationship with your students. You seem to have warm and open relations and are in dialog with them all the time. I see you eat lunch with your students and talk to them in the cafeteria. You are a good teacher who is loved. This isn’t me speaking; this is what your students say about you. Your critical approach to great works has helped them to develop their own critical thinking skills – this is student testimonial. The way you conduct your courses has played a part in the development of critical thinking abilities. Your students also say that you are open-minded, nonjudgmental and free of complexes, which gives them the liberty to ask anything without worrying about whether asking that specific thing would be appropriate. You are an approachable and accessible professor for them. They also say that the questions you ask are challenging, which is good for them.
What do they mean, “good?”
They say that because your questions challenge them to think, they can develop themselves much better. They say you compel them to think and to question, which motivates them to learn more and develop their skills. They love you as a teacher. They also say you make an effort to ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate, which is something they admire.
Really? That’s great to hear because I love them as well. But I’m not really unique as a teacher; my whole childhood was spent among teachers; my whole family were teachers.
What do you mean by not being unique?
I’m not a special teacher; I just do what I saw the teachers in my family do. I remember what my aunt, grandfather and grandmother did when I was growing up, and go along the same lines. Most importantly, I grew up in an environment with great teacher storytellers. Comical teachers we might say.
You do have a lot of teachers in your family, right? Who were teachers again?
My aunt, my cousin, my grandmother, her sister… In this environment they would correct us instantly when we made a mistake as kids; this included mistakes in English.
So because you were in a family of teachers, you were in a natural environment for learning. Did they set you examples?
Yes; they were my influences and role models.
So I guess being a teacher runs in the family for you.
I guess so. I like young people too. They give me vitality and motivate my soul. I am happy when I’m in class with them. I learn a lot from my students; they are the ones who teach me most about Turkey, its people and its culture.
In what ways do your students assist you the most?
I can ask them anything I need to know about words, the language or idiomatic uses. Our students are quite bright.
So can we call this a mutual learning process where roles are sometimes switched? Are your students also teachers whom you learn from?
Sure.
So this is a mutual relationship: you are both a teacher and a learner. Your students are your learners at times, and teachers at others. This sounds like a good exchange and you seem to be happy about it.
Indeed I am.
I also heard that you did some research on African immigrants in Turkey. Can you talk about that, it sounded interesting.
Deniz Yükseker and I received an Immigration Studies grant from Koç University. We sought the answers to why these people came to Turkey, where they wanted to go in the first place, how they felt here, whether they were persecuted… We wanted to know what they lived through when they came with or without a valid passport. It was a survey of immigration in general.
You said you asked where they had initially intended to go. What were the results?
A few articles were written on this. We saw that most Africans didn’t have Turkey as a destination, but stayed here although they wanted to go to European countries. They had issues with working and sending their children to school.
Did you travel around Turkey, Kelly?
Not much; I’ve been to only a few places. I went to Ankara, to Fethiye for vacation, and I visited Bursa, Hatay and Izmir; that’s it.
So you like to remain where you are?
That may be the case.
Thank you for this great conversation, Kelly.
