DETERMİNATION OF UNDERGRADUATE GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE “BALKANS” THROUGH METAPHORS

Abstract

: This study aims at exploring the perceptions of undergraduate geography students about the Balkans by using metaphors. The phenomenology approach, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in this study. The study group of the research consists of undergraduate students studying in the Department of Geography in Faculty of Arts and Sciences in Bursa Uludağ University. A semi-structured interview form was prepared in order to reveal the study group’s perceptions about the Balkans and the participants were asked the question “The Balkans are like….. because…… As a result of this process, a total of 183 interview forms were collected. The data obtained were subjected to content analysis. According to the findings, the participants composed 115 valid metaphors about the Balkans. These metaphors were classified under 5 categories. The undergraduate students studying in the department of geography mostly used the metaphors of bridge and rainbow, which emphasize the geographical location and ethno-cultural diversity of the Balkans.