Campus 3
What is Ephemera?
Ephemera of Greek origin, which means "something of not lasting more than one day" was redefined by Maurice Rickards as "insignificant documents of everyday life"; so, all the printed pieces of paper for consumption purposes such as newspapers, magazines, calendars, posters, banners, property deeds and even matchboxes, chocolate cards, seed envelops have been considered as ephemera until today. Even though their post-consumption faith is thought to become "garbage", ephemera are valuable resources that shed light on the economic, political, cultural and social life of the past.
1st International Ephemera Studies Symposium organized by Vehbi Koç Ankara Studies Research Center (VEKAM) affiliated to Koç University was held in Ankara between 25-27 April 2018 with the contributions of Bahar Gürsel from METU Department of History. The symposium consisting of six themes and including Prof. Dr. Ayşen Savaş and Prof. Dr.T. Elvan Altan from the Faculty of Architecture in the International Science Committee Attracted great attention from the first day it was announced. Many faculty members and specialists from Turkey and abroad such as Prof. Kevin D. Murphy, Prof. Sally O'Driscoll, Prof. Dr. İshak Keskin, Prof. Philip J. Davies and Prof. Sinan Niyazioğlu participated in the symposium. Stating that she was quite pleased with the attention paid to the symposium where seminars and an exhibition were held under an additional program in addition to the main program and with a large number of paper proposals, Dr. Bahar Gürsel said: "A symposium that addresses ephemera studies in a quite broad manner for the first time in Turkey and possibly in the world through an additional program including specialists such as collectors, curators and second-hand booksellers. We are aware of the significance and value of all the information discussed and shared during this symposium, which has significant value."
