Asya Özer
Asya Özer is a PhD candidate in the Communication Sciences Program at Kadir Has University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Advertising from Bahçeşehir University, where she also completed a double major in the New Media program. She obtained her master’s degree from Istanbul Bilgi University’s Media and Communication Systems Program with her thesis titled “A Discursive Analysis of the Directorate of Communications’ Media Contents.” Özer’s research interests focus on discourse studies, gender, and the political economy of media. Since her master’s studies, she has gained experience in several TÜBİTAK research projects. She has also been awarded funding as a principal investigator under the TÜBİTAK 3005 – Innovative Solutions in Social Sciences and Humanities Research Projects Funding Program.
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Öğün Emre, P. & Özer, A. (2023). Medya! Göçmenleri olduğu gibi değil olduğun kadar mı görürsün?: 2011-2020 tarihleri arasında basında çıkan göçmenlerle ilgili haberlerin analizi. Çankaya Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 8(2), 413–451.
Özer, A., & Özçetin, B. (2026). Rewriting history: directorate of communications and neo-Ottoman ideological recasting of Turkey’s history. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 26(1), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2024.2324561
Özer, A. (2024). Book Review: The New Politics of Home: Housing, Gender and Care in Times of Crisis. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 31(2), 279–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505068241228365
BİDEB 2211 – Doctoral Studies Grant
TÜBİTAK 1001: Political and Social Conceptualization of International Migration in Turkey: Discourses, Cognitive Maps and Migration Narratives on Migrants, Asylum-Seekers, and Refugees – MA & PhD Scholarship
TÜBİTAK 3005: The Impact of Brain Drain Discourses in Online and Social Media on the Migration Attitudes and Perceptions of Potential Migrant – PhD Scholarship
TÜBİTAK 3005: Media Discourses on the “Year of the Family” and Social Perceptions of Family Policies – Principal Investigator
Aylin Berna Zamandar Başoğlu
Aylin Berna Zamandar Başoğlu is a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Kadir Has University and a research assistant in the Department of Cartoon and Animation at Beykoz University. She holds a BA and MA in cinema, and her work is situated at the intersection of film studies, digital media, and game studies.Her research focuses on digital game culture, with particular attention to how game-related content is produced, circulated, and transformed across platforms. She is especially interested in the role of content creators in reshaping game narratives and cultural meanings through platform-specific practices on environments such as YouTube and other participatory media. Her doctoral research examines how game content creators contribute to the transformation of game culture across platforms, exploring processes of reinterpretation, circulation, and recontextualization. Drawing on perspectives from game studies and platform studies, her work approaches game culture as a dynamic and evolving phenomenon shaped by creator practices, platform logics, and participatory audiences. She has presented her work at international conferences and contributed to edited volumes and interdisciplinary research projects. Her broader research interests include digital game culture, platform-based storytelling, participatory and fan cultures, and emerging forms of cultural production shaped by digital media and artificial intelligence.
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
ZAMANDAR BAŞOĞLU, Aylin Berna (2024). “Yeni Medya ve Gastronomi: Dijital Oyunlar Üzerinden Bir Bakış.” In Yemek ve İçmenin İletişimi, ed. Meral Pınar Seden & Saygı Yaşar Birol, Efe Akademi. ISBN: 978-625-392-069-2.
ZAMANDAR BAŞOĞLU, Aylin Berna (2024). “Navigating Virtual Realities and Hybrid Spaces in the Tron Cinematic Landscape.” In Studies on Cinematography and Narrative in Film: Sequels, Serials, and Trilogies, ed. Emre Ahmet Seçmen, IGI Global. ISBN: 9798369319581.
ÖZARSLAN, Zeynep & ZAMANDAR BAŞOĞLU, Aylin Berna (2022). “Sinemada Salgınlar: 2000’li Yılların Filmleri ve Dizileri.” In Pandemi Günlerinde Medyanın Serencamı, ed. Mutlu Binark & Sevda Ünal, um:ag Yayınları. ISBN: 978-605-7882-69-1.
ÖZARSLAN, Zeynep & ZAMANDAR BAŞOĞLU, Aylin Berna (2022). “Ünlülerin Pandemi Günlerinde Sosyal Medyada Ürettikleri İçerikler.” In Pandemi Günlerinde Medyanın Serencamı, ed. Mutlu Binark & Sevda Ünal, um:ag Yayınları. ISBN: 978-605-7882-69-1.
Project Advisor, TÜBİTAK 2209 – Video Oyunlardan Sinematik Anlatıya: Cutscene Estetiği (2025– , ongoing).
Project Advisor, TÜBİTAK 2209 – Türk ve Anadolu Mitolojisinin Oyun Endüstrisi Aracılığıyla Küresel Kültürel Tanıtımı ve Evrenselleştirilmesi (2025– , ongoing).
Other:
Jury Member, 15th Canlandıranlar Talent Camp, Canlandıranlar Association, 2025 (International).
Bengü Ergin Balta
Bengü Ergin Balta is a PhD student in Communication Sciences with an interdisciplinary background in Theatre, Sinology, and Translation Studies. She worked as an actress, educator, translator and interpreter in English and Mandarin Chinese. Her interests have also been shaped by her training in child development, Waldorf pedagogy, non-violent communication, and creative drama. Her work generally focuses on the connections between arts-based learning, nature-based approaches, and inclusive practices. Her academic research explores how creative practices can support communication across cultural and disciplinary boundaries. In her previous studies, she examined drama translation through Skopos Theory and performability at İstanbul University, and also investigated the use of creative drama in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, developing workshop-based approaches to support engagement and learning at Ankara University. She has also been involved in several international projects, particularly within the Erasmus+ framework. Her recent work includes contributing as a member to the SALTO Climate Justice Think Tank (2025–2026), as a trainer and researcher in the “Resilience in Nature” project (2024–2025), and the “Step UP” Erasmus+ KA-3 project (2021–2023), which aimed to support the social inclusion of vulnerable groups through creative and participatory methods.
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Salomons, Oda, Öncel, Ahmet, Bouwsma, Sybren, Ergin Balta, Bengü (2025). Resilience in Nature: A Toolkit for Empowering Youth with Outdoor Activities. Amsterdam, Flourish in Nature Foundation.https://flourishinnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/RESILIENCE-IN-NATURE-TOOLKIT-2O25.pdf
Schejbal-Cytawa, M., Ergin Balta, B., Bilgin, E., Almeida, C., Pereira, S., Pires, D., Kajmowicz-Sopicka, J., Nyziak, A., Mihócsa, K., Farkas, A., Ntontis, D., Drellia, O., Moreira, C., & Vázquez, A. (2022). Designing and delivering arts and cultural activities to vulnerable groups. STEP UP Project. https://stepupart.eu/reports/manual-reports
Ergin, B. (2007). Çin ve Çeviribilim. In 38th International Congress of Asian and North African Studies (ICANAS) (pp. 141–150).
https://ayk.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ERGİN-Bengü-ÇİN-VE-ÇEVİRİBİLİM.pdf
Büşra Eser
Büşra Eser holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication Studies. She produces academic and semi-academic writings on food culture, with her research focusing particularly on the sociology of food, urban sociology, qualitative methods, migration, and refugee communities. Her work employs qualitative methods to understand everyday practices in urban life and among migrant communities. Eser’s research aims to uncover the connections between cultural practices and social relations. She has served as a researcher on the TÜBİTAK-funded project “The Social History of Electric Home Technologies in Turkey (1930–2020): Modernization in Women’s Everyday Lives.” Her academic achievements include being awarded the Runner-Up Prize in the “Best Thesis” category by the Graduate Association for Food Studies (GAFS).
Publications, Awards, and Research Projects:
Eser, B. & Karaosmanoğlu, D. (2023). Gastrodiplomacy in Turkey: ‘Saving the World’ or Neoliberal Conservative Cultural Policies at Work. International Journal of Cultural Policy. DOI: 10.1080/10286632.2023.2183951
Best Thesis Runner-Up Award, Graduate Association for Food Studies (GAFS), for ongoing doctoral research, July 2025
Best Paper Award, 3rd Congress on Relational Sociology, Koç University, Jun 14, 2019
Scholarship, Institut Européen d’Histoire et des Cultures de l’Alimentation (IEHCA), Summer University in Food & Drink Studies, Tours, France, Aug–Sep 2019
Teaching Assistant Scholarship, Istanbul Şehir University, 2015–2017
Enes Akdağ
Enes Akdağ is an Istanbul-based short filmmaker and a PhD candidate in the Communication Studies Program at Kadir Has University. He completed his undergraduate studies in the Political Science and International Relations Program, at Istanbul Şehir University. During his undergraduate education, he also completed a double major in the Cinema and Television Program. Throughout his undergraduate years, Akdağ gained professional experience in directing and production departments within various production companies. Between 2017 and 2019, the five short films he wrote and directed were selected for numerous national and international film festivals and received several awards. He obtained his master’s degree from the Media and Communication Studies Program at Galatasaray University, with a thesis titled “Contemporary Forms of the Collective Viewing Experience: Subscription-Based Video-on-Demand Platforms and Online Watch Parties.” His up-to-date research interests lie in the fields of film industries, new cinema history, and queer cinema. He currently works as a Research Assistant in the Department of New Media and Communication (English) at Üsküdar University, where he teaches practice-based courses such as video camera techniques and digital video editing techniques.
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Akdağ, E., & Temel, M. (Forthcoming). Post-Truth: A Fake Film About The Real World. Lacuna: Journal of Theory, Culture and Events. https://lacunajournal.org/
Akdağ, E. (2024). New ‘Film’ or ‘Cinema’ History: Reflections on Emerging Principles, Theories and Methodologies in Cinema Historiography. Etkileşim, 14, 351-355. https://doi.org/10.32739/etkilesim.2024.7.14.276
Akdağ, E., & Çelebi, N. A. (2024). From Stunt Actors to Digital Actors: Reconceptualizing the Audiovisual Performances in the Era of Artificial Intelligence. In Dijital Eşitsizlik ve Veri Sömürgeciliği Sempozyumu: 11. Uluslararası İletişim Günleri Bildiri Kitabı (pp. 30–40). Üsküdar University.
Other:
Professional Membership: Kısa Film Yönetmenleri Derneği (KFYD)
Esra Atalay Tuna
Esra Atalay Tuna has worked as a researcher and data analyst since 2012, contributing to over 70 research projects using both quantitative and qualitative methods. She has played an active role in designing and conducting field research for public institutions, the private sector, NGOs, INGOs, and universities. She is currently working at the CORE Research Institute. Her expertise includes external evaluation, social impact assessment, needs assessment, as well as opinion research, profiling, segmentation, and reputation tracking. Her research interests focus on civil society, social impact, gender, child policy, and social policy. She has served as a research manager for research projects conducted for organizations such as, UN Women, UNFPA Türkiye, the Sabancı Foundation, AÇEV, TÜSSİDE and the British Council. She holds degrees in Sociology (Marmara Uni.) and Social Policy (METU) and has gained international academic experience in Sweden (Uppsala Uni.) and the United States (IUP). She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Communication Studies Program at Kadir Has University, focusing on her dissertation research on, “Understanding Social Impact and its Policy Efficacy in the Turkish Context” (advisor, Assoc. Prof. Levent Soysal.)
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Atalay Tuna, E. (2019). The Gap Analysis of Turkish State’s Children Policies and the Agenda of Children-Based CSOs Between 1990s-2018 in Turkey (Master’s thesis, Middle East Technical University (Turkey).
Atalay Tuna, E., Mısırlıoğlu, İ., & Alkurt, S. V. (2019). Final evaluation of the project “Fathers are here for gender equality”. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
Emgin, B. & Atalay Tuna E. (2023). Süpürge. 100 Sene 100 Nesne Cumhuriyete Nesnelerin Gözünden Bakmak. Alfa. ISBN: 9786254498930
Akyürek, S., Koydemir, S. & Atalay Tuna, E. (2014). Sivil-asker ilişkileri ve ordu-toplum mesafesi. BİLGESAM Yayınları. ISBN: 9786058609785
TÜBİTAK 1001: 124K382, Cumhuriyetimizin 100. Yılında Aktif Vatandaşlığı Yeniden Düşünmek: Sosyal Medyada Siyasal Katılım ve Yurttaş Etkileşimi (2025). – Doctoral Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1001: 120K822, Türkiye’de Elektrikli Ev Teknolojilerinin Toplumsal Tarihi (1930-2020): Kadınların Gündelik Hayatlarında Modernleşme (2020-2024). – Doctoral Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1001: 112K397, Kürt Seçmenlerin Oy Verme Dinamikleri: Kuzeydoğu-Ortadoğu Ve Güneydoğu Anadolu Alt Bölgelerinde Seçmenin Siyasal Tercihlerinin Sosyolojik Analizi (2014-2015). – MA Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1001: 112K219, Türkiye’de Siyasetçilerin Zihniyet Haritaları : Uzlaşma, İstinai Haller ve Kırmızı Çizgiler (2014). – Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1001: 112K223, Türkiye’de Modern Siyasi Hafızalar: Kesişmeler, Karşıtlıklar ve Koşutluklar (2014) – Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1001: 113K628, İnternette Karşılaşmalar: Twitter Örneğinde Kimlik ve Kamusallık (2014-2016).– Researcher
Gizay Akdogan
Since 2017, Gizay Akdoğan has been contributing to the field of culture and arts, initially through performing arts as a co-founder of the Istanbul Fringe Festival. Transitioning into the cinema industry in 2020, her production experience spans independent film — including Nothing in Its Place (2024, dir. Burak Çevik) and Crossing (2024, dir. Levan Akin) — as well as large-scale production for Netflix Turkey and HBO Max. She also co-produced the short film Jump (dir. Eda Çarıkçı) and produced On the Wrong Foot (producer and writer, Melis Balaban, 2023). Currently, she is developing the feature documentary project You Little Box (dir. Mert Kaya). She holds an MA in Cultural Management from Istanbul Bilgi University (2024), where she analyzed the impact of streaming platforms on independent production. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Communication Studies at Kadir Has University, with research focused on independent filmmaking, digitalization, cultural policy, and production culture. In April 2025, she received the “Young Producer Award” at Meetings on the Bridge (Istanbul Film Festival), which led to her selection for the “Breaking Into the Industry” mentorship program at Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event in November 2025.
İbrahim Şahin Ateş
İbrahim Şahin Ateş is a PhD student in the Communication Sciences program at Kadir Has University and a research assistant in the Department of Psychology at Istanbul Nişantaşı University. He completed his master’s degree in the Cultural Studies program at Istanbul Bilgi University. He is the translator of Bilimsel Psikoloji Taslağı (Sigmund Freud, Sfenks Kitap, 2024), Öğretmenler ve Ebeveynler İçin Psikanaliz (Anna Freud, Sfenks Kitap, 2023), and Estetik, Etik ve Psikanaliz (Costas Douzinas, co-translated with Ezgi Duman, Dipnot Yayınları, 2022). He is the editor of the forthcoming Sigmund Freud Bibliography (Sfenks Kitap, 2026). He is the president of the Istanbul Freudian Psychoanalysis Association and continues his international work within the New Lacanian School (NLS-AMP)
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Ateş, İbrahim Şahin. “Hasta ve Terapist Arasındaki Aktarım ve Karşıt Aktarıma Etik Bakış.” İçinde: Klinik Psikolojide Vakalarla Etik, ed. Kader Bahayi, 213–234. İstanbul: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık, 2023. ISBN: 9786253970253.
Ateş, İbrahim Şahin. “Antigone Yaşıyor: Psikanalizde Öznenin Kurucuları Olarak Anı İzi, Boşluk ve Travma.” İçinde: Suret – Psikokültürel Analiz: Kahramanlar Anti-Kahramanlar, ed. Hakan Kızıltan, 169–195. İstanbul: İthaki Yayınları, 2019. ISBN: 9786057762498.
Ateş, İbrahim Şahin. “Psikanalizde Bazı Temel Dersler (1938) / Some Elementary Lessons in Psychoanalysis.” İçinde: Psikanaliz Yazıları 46 – Küçük Hans ve Çocuksu Cinsellik, ed. Ali Bilgin Köşkdere & Behice Boran, 129–135. İstanbul: Bağlam Yayınları, 2023. ISBN: 9786256538030.
TÜBİTAK 1001 Project: Çağdaş Türk Sineması’nda Aile Kurguları: Roller, Çatışmalar ve Uzlaşılar, Coordinator: Dr. Öğretim Üyesi Defne Tüzün
Role: PhD Scholarship
Sena Öndün Sivas
Sena Öndün Sivas is a research assistant in the Department of Management of Performing Arts at Istanbul Bilgi University and a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Kadir Has University. She holds a BA in Sociology from Galatasaray University, which informs the sociological grounding of her research. Her work focuses on audience practices and the experience of cinemagoing within the context of arthouse cinema. She is particularly interested in the spatial dimensions of cinema, including cinema venues in urban contexts, the relationship between audiences and urban memory, and the role of cinemagoing in shaping cultural experience. Her MA thesis, which examined changing cinema-going practices through a case study of Kadıköy Cinema, was supported by TÜBİTAK (1002-A). She is currently a researcher in the TÜBİTAK-funded project “Film Audience in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic.”
Publications, Awards and Research Projects:
Öndün Sivas, S., & Behlil, M. (2025). Beyond the Festival: The Istanbul Film Festival and the Audience of Kadıköy Cinema. sinecine: Sinema Araştırmaları Dergisi, 16(2), 235-260. https://doi.org/10.32001/sinecine.1754140
Öndün Sivas, S. (2025). 4th Film Festivals Symposium: In Pursuit of the Audiences of Film Festivals. sinecine: Sinema Araştırmaları Dergisi, 16(2), 284-298. https://doi.org/10.32001/sinecine.1752819
Öndün, S. (2024) Defining Arthouse: The Reception of European Cinema among the Istanbul Arthouse Audiences, The REBOOT Project, https://thereboot-project.eu/blog/blogpost-0024
TÜBİTAK 1001- Film Audience in the 100th Anniversary of the Republic – PhD Researcher
TÜBİTAK 1002- Changing Practices in Cinema-Going: A Case Study on Kadıköy Cinema – MA Researcher