Bilkent University hosted the third annual \u201cPossible Worlds: Storytelling, Mythology and Art Conference\u201d on February 21\u201322, bringing together academics, writers and content creators to explore myth as a space for reimagining reality. Organized by the Historical Society, Literature Society, Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, Storytelling and Mythology Society and Translation Society, with the support of O\u011fuz Tansel Center for Turkish Literature (OTTEM), the Department of History and the Department of Translation and Interpreting in English and French, the two-day event examined how mythology and narrative shape cultural, intellectual and artistic production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Originally launched in 2024 under the title \u201cMythos, History and Art Meeting,\u201d the conference has evolved into a larger interdisciplinary platform. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cPossible Worlds,\u201d framed myth not as mere escapism but as a creative and critical tool through which individuals and societies construct alternative ways of thinking and being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first day started with an opening talk by Duygu Duman from the TRIN Department. It featured discussions spanning science fiction, artificial intelligence, horror literature and fantasy world-building. Thomas Zimmermann opened the conference with a lecture on Frank Herbert\u2019s Dune, focusing on its subtle warnings about artificial intelligence and technological disaster. Zachary Murphy King followed with a presentation on translation, modernism and literary debates in the Soviet Union, highlighting how Western writers were interpreted within socialist cultural frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later sessions turned to horror and fantasy. Authors Mehmet Berk Yalt\u0131r\u0131k and Galip Dursun discussed the relationship between horror literature and social reality, emphasizing the genre\u2019s engagement with cultural memory and fear. They were followed by a panel on Tolkien\u2019s Middle-earth by Zafer G\u00fcle\u00e7, Berkay \u00dcnde\u011fer and El\u00e7in Par\u00e7ao\u011flu. This panel examined myth, language and ethical imagination, demonstrating how fantasy literature constructs complex moral and philosophical worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final session of the first day addressed the adaptation of Turkish mythology into contemporary gaming. Bartu B\u00f6l\u00fckba\u015f\u0131 and Fatih \u015eahinba\u015f presented their tabletop war game “Warlords of the Steppes” as an example of how traditional mythological elements can be reinterpreted within modern strategy games, bridging cultural heritage and digital creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second day shifted toward historical and anthropological perspectives. Writer, instructor and editor Kudret Emiro\u011flu reflected on cultural history and collective memory, while N. \u0130lgi Ger\u00e7ek explored Hittite mythology and Late Bronze Age Anatolia within broader social and political contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a panel titled \u201cCollaboration in Myth Production: Roleplaying Games,\u201d Arya Zencefil, Mert G\u00fcnhan and Berna Ece G\u00fcnd\u00fcz examined tabletop role-playing games as spaces of collective storytelling and modern myth production. They discussed how shared imagination, narrative design and community practices contribute to the creation of new mythic structures for participants of RPGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conference’s last panel was by Nehir Narin, who addressed the question \u201cIs Human Nature Good or Evil?\u201d through an interdisciplinary lens that combined anthropology, philosophy and popular culture. Her talk invited participants to reconsider one of humanity\u2019s most enduring debates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event ended with a closing speech by Mehmet Kalpakl\u0131 from the History Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recognition of each speaker\u2019s contribution, saplings were donated to the Kulubaba Forest in Elaz\u0131\u011f through the TEMA Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over two days, the \u201cPossible Worlds\u201d conference demonstrated that myth and narrative are not confined to literature alone. Rather, they remain powerful tools for understanding society, culture and the human condition in historical and contemporary contexts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bilkent University hosted the third annual \u201cPossible Worlds: Storytelling, Mythology and Art Conference\u201d on February 21\u201322, bringing together academics, writers and content creators to explore myth as a space for reimagining reality. Organized by the Historical Society, Literature Society, Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, Storytelling and Mythology Society and Translation[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,80,214,193],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10394,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10393\/revisions\/10394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bilkentnews.bilkent.edu.tr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}