The response from CİMER is the same: Philosophy students cannot apply for a faculty position because they are not 'experts'!

Mustafa BÜYÜKSİPAHİ-12punto.com.tr

It was revealed that the Research Assistant job posting for the Department of Philosophy, History of Turkish-Islamic Thought sub-department at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kastamonu University, published in the Official Gazette on December 30, 2023, with the number 32415 and reference 2023-ÖE2-15, required candidates to be “a graduate of the Philosophy Department, Faculty of Theology, or Faculty of Islamic Sciences, and to be pursuing a master's degree with a thesis in one of the following sub-departments: History of Turkish-Islamic Thought, Islamic Philosophy, or Islamic and Turkish Philosophy.”

When looking at the requirements of the posting, it was seen that candidates pursuing a master's degree in philosophy departments were prevented from applying.

Students pursuing graduate studies in philosophy master's programs complained to the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER) about the obstacle placed before them when they reviewed the posting's requirements and demanded that this illegality be brought to an end.

When the students' complaints were forwarded to the university via CİMER, Kastamonu University not only defended this irregularity but also stated in writing that those pursuing graduate studies in the philosophy department were not “competent” to be employed in the “History of Turkish-Islamic Thought” sub-department, which is located under the philosophy department:

“… Since the History of Turkish-Islamic Thought sub-department also requires a separate expertise, it is important that the research assistant to be employed in this sub-department be useful and productive in the field where they were educated and where they will serve.”

Since the research assistant to be hired for the announced position will still be pursuing a master's degree, they do not yet have expertise in any specific field.

Therefore, candidates pursuing graduate studies in philosophy departments can develop themselves in this field just as those studying in theology faculties can. However, as seen in the posting and reinforced by the statement made, even the right to apply is being taken away from those pursuing graduate studies in philosophy departments.

With this statement, Kastamonu University is attempting to legitimize its effort to theologize philosophy departments.

However, while doing so, it states that the graduate programs of philosophy departments are not sufficient for a research assistant position to be employed in philosophy departments (the sub-department in question is not in the Faculty of Theology, but under the Philosophy Department!).

In the same posting, only theologians can apply for the research assistant position to be filled in the History of Philosophy sub-department of the Kastamonu University Faculty of Theology. Philosophers, who are considered insufficient for the History of Turkish-Islamic Thought sub-department, are also not seen as competent for the History of Philosophy sub-department.

In light of all this, the Presidency of the Council of Higher Education, Kastamonu University, and the Philosophy Department in question are expected to answer the following questions:

Is Kastamonu University authorized to say that students studying in the graduate programs of philosophy departments are “not experts” and “cannot be productive”?

Can it be legally defended to close the path for those doing a master's degree in philosophy departments to apply for a position opened within the philosophy department?

On what legitimate grounds are philosophers prevented from applying for the research assistant position to be filled in the “History of Philosophy sub-department”?

Was the application requirement in the posting prepared with a candidate in mind who is doing a master's degree in the Islamic and Turkish Philosophy sub-department at Istanbul Medeniyet University?

News Source: Mustafa Büyüksipahi