Forum for Interdisciplinary Religious Studies (FIRSt)

Dr. Gülay Türkmen-Dervisoglu

PROFILE

In my current project at the University of Goettingen, I explore the relationship between religion, ethnicity and nationalism by focusing on identity formation among immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries in Germany. Through a mosque-based ethnographic research and in-depth interviews, I observe how the multi-layered identities of these communities play out in religious settings. I am especially interested in figuring out why certain immigrant groups preserve and prioritize their ethno-nationalist identity to the extent that they form 'ethnic mosques' while others embrace Islam as a supranational identity and blend in as 'Muslims' only, downplaying their ethnic background.

ACADEMIC EDUCATION

2016 Ph.D., Sociology, Yale University, USA
2016 Graduate Certificate of Concentration, Modern Middle East Studies, Yale University, USA
2012 M.Phil., Sociology, Yale University, USA
2011 M.A., Sociology, Yale University, USA
2009 M.A., Sociology, University of Virginia, USA
2003 B.A., Western Languages and Literatures, Bogazici University, Turkey

PROFESSIONAL CAREER AFTER COMPLETING DEGREE

2016-present Post-Doc Researcher, Forum for interdisciplinary religious Studies (FiReF-FIRSt) Georg August University Göttingen, Germany

FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS AND HONORS (SELECTED)

2014 Cagatay Summer Fellowship, The MacMillan Center, Yale University, USA
2014 Tilly Graduate Student Travel Award, Social Science History Association (SSHA)
2014 University Dissertation Fellowship, Yale University, USA
2012 George M. Camp Research Grant, Yale University, USA
2012 Pre-dissertation Research Grant, The MacMillan Center, Yale University, USA
2011–2013 Rosabeth M. Kanter Fellowship, Yale University, USA
2011 London Middle East Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Travel Grant, UK
2009–2014 Graduate Fellowship, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Yale University, USA
2007–2009 Graduate Fellowship, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia, USA

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Books and articles in journals

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2018. “Negotiating symbolic boundaries in conflict resolution: The interplay between religion and ethnicity in Turkey’s Kurdish conflict.” Qualitative Sociology (forthcoming).

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2018. “Religion and civil war: The case of Turkey”. In: Djupe, Paul and Teczur, Gunes Murat (eds.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (forthcoming).

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay and Kirbasoglu, Hayri. 2018. “Political Islam in Turkey”. In: Ozyurek, Esra, Altindis, Emrah and Ozpinar, Gaye (eds.). Authoritarianism and Resistance in Turkey: Conversations on Democratic and Social Challenges (forthcoming).

Gorski, Philip and Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2013. “Religion, nationalism and violence: An integrated approach. Annual Review of Sociology 39: 193–210.

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2013. “Coming to terms with a difficult past: The trauma of the assassination of Hrant Dink and its repercussions on Turkish national identity. Nations and Nationalism 19(4): 674–692.

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2011. “Lebanon: Parody of a nation? A closer look at Lebanese confessionalism.” Yale Review of International Affairs 2(1): 61–72.


Other publications

Op-ed: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2017. Turkeyʼs presidential referendum and the (not so) curious case of the Turkish diaspora in Europe. Open Democracy. (https://www.opendemocracy.net/gulay-turkmen-dervisoglu/turkey-s-presidential-referendum-and-not-so-curious-case-of-turkish-diaspor)

Op-ed: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2017. Optimism of the intellect? How to stay hopeful in the wake of Turkey’s referendum results. Jadaliyya. (http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/26449/%E2%80%98optimism-of-the-intellect%E2%80%99-how-to-stay-hopeful-in)

Book review: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2017. The headscarf debates: conflicts of national belonging, by Anna Korteweg and Gokce Yurdakul. International Feminist Journal of Politics 19(2). 272–273.

Op-ed: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2015. Turkey: From role model to illiberal democracy. Open Democracy. (https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/gulay-turkmen-dervisoglu/turkey-from-role-model-to-illiberal-democracy)

Op-ed: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2013. Gezi: The park that shook up Turkey. Open Democracy. (http://www.opendemocracy.net/gulay-turkmen-dervisoglu/gezi-park-that-shook-up-turkey)

Op-ed: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2013. Petri Dishes: The Taksim Square protests. The European. (http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/gulay-turkmen-dervisoglu/7002-the-taksim-square-protests)

Book review: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2013. Soldiers, spies and statesmen: Egyptʼs road to revolt, by Hazem Kandil. LSE Review of Books.

Book chapter: Gorski, Philip and Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2012. “Religion, nationalism, and international security: creation myths and social mechanisms.” In: Seiple, Chris, Hoover, Dennis and Otis, Pauletta. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security. London; New York: Routledge. 136–148.

Book review: Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2010. Religious politics and secular states: Egypt, India and the United States, by Scott W. Hibbard. Tarih: Graduate History Journal 2: 131–134.


Unpublished thesis

Turkmen-Dervisoglu, Gulay. 2016. United in Religion, Divided by Ethnicity? Why Islam Fails as a Supranational Identity in Turkey. Unpublished PhD thesis, Yale University.