I’m a political geographer with a passion for exploring how power, place, and identity shape our world. My research, writing, and teaching engage with topics such as the geographies of the state, Kurdish studies, critical geopolitics, feminist geography, and refugee studies.

I hold a BA and MA in Political Science from Turkey and earned my PhD in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020. After a year at TED University in Ankara, I joined the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern in 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher, where I continue to work today.

My doctoral research focused on Turkish-Sunni diaspora mosques in Germany and their role as political and social spaces. Since then, I’ve collaborated with Dr. Banu Gökarıksel and Betül Aykaç on a project exploring how Afghan and Syrian refugees are represented through geopolitical discourses in Turkey. Currently, I’m investigating state violence through a feminist and embodied lens.

I co-chair the Feminist Geographies group of the Swiss Association of Geographers (ASG) and am an active member of the Swiss Association for Turkish Studies (SFST) and the Swiss Society for the Middle East and Islamic Cultures (SGMOIK). In 2025, I joined the board of the AAG Political Geography Specialty Group.

I’ve taught in Turkey, the U.S., and Switzerland, offering courses in Geography, Middle East Studies, Sociology, and Political Science. Over the past three years, I’ve led MA-level seminars and lectures in Political Geography, Feminist Geographies, and Research Colloquia. 

Outside academia, I find joy in the small things—collecting everyday objects and turning them into keepsakes, crafting with popsicle sticks, and diving into art history, sci-fi, and fantasy. Comedy, for me, is both a way to relax and a political lens I deeply appreciate. I enjoy experimenting with Mediterranean vegan dishes (no promises on the results!) and love walking in the rain or getting lost in a new city.