EDUCATION

New York University, New York, NY.

Ph.D. in Social Anthropology, awarded May 2007. Dissertation title: “Social Work and the Politics of the Family at the Crossroads of Welfare Reform in Turkey.”
Thesis Committee: Dr. Rayna Rapp, Dr. Lila Abu-Lughod, Dr. Michael Gilsenan, Dr. Lynne Haney, Dr. Susan C. Rogers.

M.A. in Social Anthropology, awarded May 2000. M.A. thesis entitled “The ‘National Past’ in Contemporary Turkey.”

Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.
June 1997, B.A. in Economics.
B.A. in Sociology.

Izmir American College Institute, Izmir. 1992

FELLOWSHIPS and GRANTS

2004-2007 Visiting Research Fellow, Boğaziçi University Social Policy Forum
2005 Wenner-Gren Foundation Supplementary Fieldwork Grant
2004 Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
2003 Annette Weiner Graduate Fellowship, New York University, Department of
Anthropology
2003, 2000 R.Bayly Winder Fellowship, New York University, Hagop Kevorkian Center for
Near Eastern Studies
2000-2003 Teaching Assistantship, New York University, Department of Anthropology
2002-1997 MacCracken Fellowship, New York University

HONORS AND AWARDS

2007 American Anthropological Association The Middle East Section Honorable Mention for the Outstanding Paper Award

1997 Highest Honors, Boğaziçi University, Department of Sociology
Highest Honors, Boğaziçi University, Department of Economics

ACADEMIC TEACHING EXPERIENCE

January 2004-May 2004 Instructor for ‘Readings in Modern Anthropology’ Yeditepe
University, Istanbul, Turkey
January 2003-May 2003 Teaching Assistant to Prof. Rogers for ‘Human Society and Culture’
New York University, Department of Anthropology
September-December 2002 Teaching Assistant to Prof. Zito for “The Anthropology of
Religion” New York University, Department of Anthropology
January 2002-May2002 Teaching Assistant to Prof.Blu for “The Anthropology of
Education” New York University, Department of Anthropology
September-December 2000 Teaching Assistant to Prof. Rockefeller for ‘Human Society and
Culture’ New York University, Department of Anthropology

PUBLICATIONS

“Discovering Our Past”: Are “We” Breaking Taboos? Reconstructing Ataturkism and the Past in Contemporary Turkey.” New Perspectives on Turkey, Fall 2001.

WORK IN PROGRESS

“Social Work, Social Exclusion and Poverty in Turkey.” Paper to be submitted to New Perspectives on Turkey, Spring 2008 Special Issue on Social Exclusion and Poverty in Turkey.

“The Restructuring of Social Work Policy and Practice in Turkey.” Discussion Paper to be submitted to Boğaziçi University Social Policy Forum.

“Social Work and the Politics of the Family at the Crossroads of Welfare Reform in Turkey.” Paper received the Honorable Mention for the Outstanding Paper Award from the American Anthropological Association’s Middle East Section and is to be submitted to the American Ethnologist

CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION AND INVITED TALKS

April 2007 Paper entitled “Social Work and the Politics of the Family in Turkey: an Ethnographic Analysis,” invited presentation given at the Ataturk Institute of Modern Turkish History, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.

April 2007 Paper entitled “Social Work and Welfare Restructuring in Turkey: Reflections on Social Policy and Inequalities in Comparative Perspective,” invited presentation given at the Cultural Studies Speaker Series, Sabancı University, Istanbul.

November 2006 Paper entitled “Work and Subjectivity in Precarious Situations,” presented at the panel on “Field/work as an Object of Anthropological Inquiry,” Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, San Jose.

April 2006 Paper entitled “Social Work and the Family at the Crossroads of Welfare Reform in Turkey,” invited presentation given at the Sociology Department, Koc University, Istanbul.

December 2005 Paper entitled “State Social Policy, Governance and the Constitution of Familial Subjects: Social Work in Turkey,” presented at the panel on “Rationalities of Governance and Administration,” Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, Washington DC.

October 2005 Paper entitled “Social Work Policy and Practice in the Context of Welfare Reform in Contemporary Turkey,” presented at the workshop on Changing Values, Changing Welfare States: The European Dimension of German and Turkish Social Policy, Bremen University, Bremen.

May 2001 Paper entitled “Discovering Our Past: Who Remembers What and When,” presented at the Comparative Cultural Politics Project Istanbul Workshop organized by Boğaziçi University and the University of Michigan.

March 2000 Paper entitled “The ‘National Past’ in Contemporary Turkey,” presented at the AGSA Symposium, New York University.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2003-2005 -Fieldwork and Archival Research,
Social Services and Child Protection Agency, City Directorate Office,
Ankara.

Observed the institutional practices at the Family and Children Services and accompanied social workers on home visits. Conducted textual analysis of case files.
Institutional Affiliation: Boğaziçi University Social Policy Forum

-Fieldwork and interviewing,
Social Services and Child Protection Agency, Community Centers,
Istanbul

Conducted fieldwork in two community centers in two low-income neighborhoods in Istanbul. Attended the educational programs offered at the centers, observed worker-client interactions and completed semi-structured interviews and led focus groups with client women.

-Fieldwork, interviewing, and textual analysis, Ankara

Participated in and observed social policy meetings in Ankara. Interviewed key policy-makers in social work legislation.
Institutional affiliation: Boğaziçi University Social Policy Forum

Analyzed key social policy texts including laws, draft laws, reform proposals, and the legal regulations of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency.

-Fieldwork, interviewing and textual analysis
School of Social Work, Hacettepe University, Ankara

Participated in the conferences organized by the school, interviewed faculty members and analyzed selected textbooks and publications.

-Fieldwork and textual analysis
The Association of Social Workers, Ankara

Participated in the conferences and meetings organized by the association. Analyzed the publications, the press releases of the association.

-Interviewing
Istanbul, Ankara and other cities at which social work conferences
were held during 2003-2005.

Conducted semi-structured interviews with social workers from four different cohorts who represent the entire history of the profession in Turkey. Respondents varied in terms of the cities, the type of social work institutions they worked in as well as their position within the bureaucratic hierarchy.

-Focus Group
Boğaziçi University, Social Policy Forum, Istanbul

Moderated a focus group with social workers working in different parts of the country. The discussion centered on the topics of poverty, family and the role of social work and social workers in Turkey.