In truth, I did not hold very high expectations for the first course on Turkey I undertook ('Gallipoli: A transnational history'), as I had found history classes from high school on Gallipoli incredibly dry while pushing a simplified narrative, and as such did not look forward to a course that was compulsory for my major. However, I quickly found my preconceived notions disproven with a course that allowed us to dive deeply into multiple aspects of the situation as well as encouraging critical thinking. The next semester I took another course ('Turkish History: Ottoman State to Modern Turkey'), and again was able to enjoy a course that showed a wide array of topics that made up the larger whole.

I feel we hold a very simplified and easily digestible idea of the region, or at least I did coming into these courses. The Turkish program was so enjoyable to me, it showed me so many things I was until then unaware of, which had always been there, just out of my sight. While I have not been able to take more courses from the Turkish program with my degree finishing, I am thankful I was able to take the courses that I did and encourage those who are looking at the courses CAIS offers, either as part of a major, minor, or as an elective to look into the Turkish program.