KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF TURKEY IN A COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES

This study is an attempt to explore to what degree students from an American college are knowledgeable of Turkey and how they perceive the country. The paper also explores why some students are more likely than others to have a positive view of Turkey. Although these students represent neither the American public nor American university students as a whole, understanding their knowledge and perception of Turkey may help us gain insight into the country’s distinguishability and overall image in the United States. This paper finds that most students are indifferent to and/or little informed about Turkey. It also shows that previous visitation experience, informational familiarity, Democratic Party affiliation and whether a student thinks of Turkey as a democratic country are related to their positive perception of Turkey.

KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF TURKEY IN A COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES

This study is an attempt to explore to what degree students from an American college are knowledgeable of Turkey and how they perceive the country. The paper also explores why some students are more likely than others to have a positive view of Turkey. Although these students represent neither the American public nor American university students as a whole, understanding their knowledge and perception of Turkey may help us gain insight into the country’s distinguishability and overall image in the United States. This paper finds that most students are indifferent to and/or little informed about Turkey. It also shows that previous visitation experience, informational familiarity, Democratic Party affiliation and whether a student thinks of Turkey as a democratic country are related to their positive perception of Turkey.

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