CV

Josh L Carney

Education

PhD Communication and Culture with minor in Cultural Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana (2015)

MA Central Eurasian Studies (Turkish Studies), Indiana University (2015)

PhD coursework, Communication, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado (2006 – 2007)

MFA Creative Writing (Nonfiction), University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2003)

MA English, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington (2001)

BA Biology, English minor, Cum Laude, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington (1997)

Academic Employment

American University of Beirut, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies, Beirut, Lebanon

Assistant Professor          August 2017 – Present

Design and teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in media studies; research on media in Turkey. Courses taught include:

  • Mediating the National Past (Graduate). A seminar that examines how mediation of nationalism, nostalgia, and trauma affect our understanding of the past, through a case study of Turkey.
  • Methods in Media Studies (Graduate). I cover the ethnographic component of this co-taught course introducing students to the key research methods used in media studies.
  • Introduction to Visual Culture (2nd-4th year). An investigation of the varied ways in which visual practices shape our world, with a particular focus on media.
  • Introduction to Communication and Media Theory (2nd year). A survey of the key theories that form the basis for communication and media studies, including both social science and humanities perspectives.

  • Introduction to Media Studies (2nd year). An introductory course that highlights the key questions, methods, and movements in the study of media, as well as the history of the discipline.

University of South Florida, Department of Communication, Tampa, Florida

Postdoctoral Scholar          August 2015 – July 2017

Design and teaching undergraduate communication courses; researching the intersection of nationalism, nostalgia, and conspiracy in Turkish popular TV and censorship in Turkish film. Courses taught include:

  • Visual Communication (3rd year). An advanced communication course focusing on the prevalence, use, and meaning of images in our daily life, drawing on a variety of critical perspectives including those from art history, semiotics, the Frankfurt school, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies.
  • Public Memory (4th year). An advanced communication course examining various conceptions of memory in relation to the nation, focusing in particular on cinematic presentations of nostalgia and trauma and the ways in which such media shape our understanding of the past.

Kadir Has University, Istanbul Studies Center, Istanbul, Turkey

Doctoral Fellow          2014 – 2015

Investigating film censorship in Turkey through an ethnographic engagement with Istanbul film festivals in 2014 and 2015.

Indiana University, Department of Communication and Culture, Bloomington, Indiana

Associate Instructor          2007 – 2015

Design and teaching undergraduate courses in Communication and Culture, including:

  • City and Cinema: Istanbul (4th year – Media, Culture, and Politics). An advanced media studies course that examines the relationship between cities and cinema through the case study of Istanbul. This course, which I designed from the ground up, was selected from a competitive field for inclusion in the summer 2013 offerings.
  • Motion Picture Production, (3rd year). A skills-based course in 16mm film production that introduces students to the history, mechanics, and techniques of film production through hands-on work with a variety of cameras and editing procedures.
  • Public Speaking, (1st year).  A speaking and presentation course that introduces students from a variety of age groups and disciplines to topics ranging from rhetorical theory to propaganda analysis and skills ranging from ceremonial, to group, to advocacy speaking.

Middle East Technical University, Department of Basic English, Ankara, Turkey

Lecturer and Materials Designer / Öğretim Görevlisi          2003 – 2006

Teaching and development, design, coordination, and distribution of materials for a school-wide upper-intermediate level program serving approximately 50 teachers and 1000 non-native speakers of English in preparation for coursework at an English-medium university.

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Composition Instructor / Graduate Teaching Assistant          2001 – 2003

Design and teaching composition courses, including:

  • Technical Writing, (3rd year). An advanced course for upper-level students in various disciplines emphasizing real-world experience in written communication.
  • First-Year Composition 1. A required course emphasizing analytical skills in writing through drafting and detailed revision of work.
  • First-Year Composition 2. A required course emphasizing analysis through an examination of rhetoric and exhaustive research, and revision through the creation of student portfolios.
  • Advanced First-Year Composition (Honors). An elevated synthesis of 1 and 2 (above) that includes the skills learned in these courses, but also allows students to practice more difficult writing tasks.

Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington

Composition Instructor / Teaching Assistant          1999 – 2001

Design and teaching first-year composition courses.

Chancellor College / Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust, Malawi

Principal Investigator, Phalombe Ethnobotanical Survey          1997 – 1998

Design, supervision, and implementation of one-year research project to preserve traditional plant knowledge and gauge effects of deforestation on healing practice in Malawi. Interviewing traditional healers, patients, and community members in rural Malawi about their knowledge and experience of healing. Training research assistants to perform interviews and collect/press plant specimens. Creating database to house project results.

Journal Articles and Chapters

  1. “ResurReaction: competing versions of Turkey’s (proto)Ottoman past in Magnificent Century and Resurrection Ertuğrul.” In Middle East Critique, 28/2, 101-120. DOI: 10.1080/19436149.2019.1599534.
  1. “Projecting ‘New Turkey’ deflecting the coup: squares, screens, and publics at Turkey’s ‘Democracy Watches’” In Media, Culture & Society, 41/1, 138-148. DOI: 10.1177/0163443718803254.
  1. “Genre strikes back: conspiracy theory, post-truth politics, and the Turkish crime drama Valley of the Wolves” In TV/Series, 13, https://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/2467.
  1. “Resur(e)recting a Spectacular Hero: Diriliş Ertuğrul, Necropolitics, and Popular Culture in Turkey” In Review of Middle East Studies, 52(1), 93-114. DOI: 10.1017/rms.2018.6.
  1. (co-author Valentina Marcella) “Screens of satire and commons of resistance: the place and role of humor in the Gezi Park protests of Turkey.” In Ridiculosa, 24, 151-164.
  1. “Regarding North: Bakur and the crystallization of cinematic censorship in Turkey.” In S. Koçer and C. Candan eds. Kurdish Documentary Cinema in Turkey: The Politics and Aesthetics of Identity and Resistance. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  1. “Shifting the community press: a brief examination of Gülen-affiliated papers Zaman and Today’s Zaman,” in Lea Nocera ed. The Gülen Media Empire, Arab Media Report N. 8 – September, 77-91; translated in Italian as “Il cambio di rotta. Breve analisi dei due giornali affiliati a Gülen: Zaman e Today’s Zaman,” in Lea Nocera ed. L’impero mediatico di Gülen, Arab Media Report N. 7 – September, 79-94.
  1. “Re-creating history and recreating publics: the success and failure of recent Ottoman costume dramas in Turkish media.” In European Journal of Turkish Studies, 19, http://ejts.revues.org/5050.
  1. “Of babies and burlap bags: key moments and the making of the US image in Turkey.” In K. Kanat, A.S. Tekelioğlu, K. Üstün eds. Change and adaptation in Turkish foreign policy. SETA Foundation, Washington DC, pp. 85-120.
  1. “The PM and the Sultan: Sacred history and expression collide in Turkey.” (Book version) in The Turkish touch: neo-Ottoman hegemony and Turkish television in the Middle East, Arab Media Report N. 4 – October, 29-31; translated in Italian as (2013) “Il premier e il sultano: il conflitto turco tra storia sacra e libertà di espressione,” in The Turkish touch: Egemonia neo-ottomana e televisione turca in Medio Oriente, Arab Media Report N. 1 – Dicembre, 33-36.
  1. “Silver and light: Turkish drama shines brighter abroad,” in The Turkish touch: neo-Ottoman hegemony and Turkish television in the Middle East, Arab Media Report N. 4 – October, 33-36; translated in Italian as (2013) “Luce e argento: lo sceneggiato turco splende all’estro,” inThe Turkish touch: Egemonia neo-ottomana e televisione turca in Medio Oriente, Arab Media Report N. 1 – Dicembre, 37-40.
  1. “Reality (TV) in wolve’s clothing? Valley of the Wolves,” in The Turkish touch: neo-Ottoman hegemony and Turkish television in the Middle East, Arab Media Report N. 4 – October, 37-42; translated in Italian as (2013) “Realismo (tv) travestito da fiction? La valle dei lupi,” in The Turkish touch: Egemonia neo-ottomana e televisione turca in Medio Oriente, Arab Media Report N. 1 – Dicembre, 41-46.
  1. “Writing As Social Witness: September 11th, 2001.” In B. Alvarado, B. Cully, and M. Robinson, eds. Writing as revision. 2nd Ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Conference Proceedings

  1. “Distilling ideologies: opinion page strategies for explaining the Turkish elections to foreigners.” Proceedings of 6th International Symposium on Communication in the Millennium, pp. 63-87.

Book Reviews

  1. Review of Joshua Hendrick, Gülen: the ambiguous politics of market Islam in Turkey and the world, 2013. Media Screen Turkey, http://wp.me/p5GLo7-51.
  1. Review of Daniella Kuzmanovic, Refractions of civil society in Turkey, 2012. Arab Studies Journal, 22:1, 294-298.
  1. Review of Behlül Özkan, From the abode of Islam to the Turkish Vatan: the making of a national homeland in Turkey, 2012. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 38, 125-128.
  1. Review of Rifat N. Bali, The saga of a friendship: Asa Kent Jennings and the American Friends of Turkey, Libra Kitap, 2009. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 32, 93-96.

Journalism

  1. “Turkey’s TV Business Booming Despite Domestic Woes.” Variety, 4 April.
  1. “Historical Hits Resurrecting Turkey’s TRT.” Variety, 4 April.
  1. “Tensions between Turkey’s film festivals, government take toll.” Variety, 22 October.
  1. “Mipcom: Turkey’s ‘Magnificent Century: Kosem’ set to sell at TV mart.” Variety, 30 September.
  1. “Turkey: ‘North’ ban sparks more protests.” Variety, 22 April.
  1. “Sending the Sultan Global.” Arab Media Report (online), 18 June (also in Italian translation).
  1. “Nymphomaniac latest pawn in Turkey’s battle over censorship.” Variety, 21 March.
  1. “Twitter banned by Turkish government.” Variety, 21 March.
  1. “A new distribution model gives Turkey’s film fans their fill of foreign fare.” Variety, 21 January.
  1. “Pioneer spirit: Turkeys Kanal D turns 20 in volatile market mastered by topper Irfan Şahin.” Variety, 17 December.
  1. “Pandora’s Screen? Turkish Programming in the Arab World.” Arab Media Report (online), March, (also in Italian translation).
  1. “The PM and the Sultan: sacred history and expression collide in Turkey.” Arab Media Report, February (online), (also in Italian translation).
  1. “Pinema Filmcilik: biz built on relationships,” “Boyut film tie is built to last,” and “Two decades of growth.” Variety, 11 February.
  1. “Gallipoli pics do battle in Turkey.” Variety, 22 September.
  1. “Censors boost Turkish cop’s profile.” Variety, 23 June.

Web Sites

www.mediascreenturkey.com – blog on media in Turkey

www.endtimescafe.com – personal blog

 Invited Talks / Seminars

  1. “Resur(e)recting a spectacular hero: Diriliş Ertuğrul, necropolitics, and popular culture in Turkey.” Faculty of Arts and Sciences Research Lunch talk, American University of Beirut, 7 September.
  1. “Gösterişli bir kahramanı diriltmek: Türkiye’de popüler kültür, nekropolitika ve Diriliş Ertuğrul.” Panel titled “Politicization of television in Turkey: revisiting the past, constructing the present,” at Blickweschel Contemporary Turkish Studies Program, Humboldt Universität, Berlin, 25 April.
  1. “Theaters of inhibition and cinemas of strategy: film festivals and the sites of struggle over censorship in Turkey.” Workshop on Anthropology of Media in Turkey at Kadir Has University, Istanbul, 8-10 September.
  1. “Resurrection as reaction: competing visions of Turkey’s (proto) Ottoman past in Magnificent Century and Resurrection Ertuğrul.” Conference on history and society on TV in the Middle East at University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 6 April.
  1. “The harem, Hürrem, and the ‘truth’: restorative nostalgia and the veiling of a magnificent heroine.” A presentation of this paper in full for the Department of Communication Spring Colloquium at University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 3 February.
  1. “Censor-seep: cinema, ‘sansür,’ and strategy at film festivals in Turkey (2014 – 2015).” A presentation of this paper in full for graduate proseminar at the Department of Communication, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, 2 November.
  1. “The Valley in Turkish-Israeli relations.” A presentation of this paper in full as invited speaker for the interdisciplinary Images Forum, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 25 February.
  1. “Eyedeological jeans.” A presentation of this paper in full as invited Virginia Gunderson speaker for the Department of Communication and Culture’s fall colloquium series at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 12 September.

Academic Presentations

  1. “The harem, Hürrem, and the ‘truth’: restorative nostalgia and the veiling of a magnificent heroine.” Presenting on panel titled “Cine-media cultures in the Arab world and the Middle East” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies annual conference, Seattle, 16 March.
  1. “Nostalgic returns: on the targets, forms, and uses of nostalgia in Turkish popular culture.” International Media Nostalgia Network conference, Södertörn University, Stockholm, 8 November.
  1. “Theaters of inhibition and cinemas of strategy: censorship, space, and struggle at a film festival in Turkey” in panel titled “Understanding Kurdish Media and Communications: Space, Place and Materiality” at the International Communication Association annual meeting, Prague, 24-28 May.
  1. “Resur(e)recting a spectacular hero: Diriliş Ertuğrul, necropolitics, and popular culture in Turkey.” Presenting at workshop titled “The politics of culture in contemporary Turkey” sponsored by the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 14-16 February.
  1. “Resur(e)recting a spectacular hero: Diriliş Ertuğrul, necropolitics, and popular culture in Turkey.” Presenting in panel titled “Right and far-right politics and movements: ethnography/ic matters,” at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Washington DC, 29 November-3December.
  1. “Channeling tombs: memorial sites and/as media in neo-Ottoman Istanbul.” Presenting at conference titled “Through the Looking Glass of the Local: Rereading Istanbul’s Heterogeneous Pasts,” sponsored by the Max Planck Institute, Götingen, 28-29 September.
  1. “Reflecting the public deflecting the coup: screens and spatial practice in Turkey’s post-coup ‘democracy watches’.” Presenting in panel titled “The Media and the Failed Coup Attempt in Turkey, July 2016” at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies annual meeting, Chicago, Illinois, 22-26 March.
  1. “Cases of death in Turkish TV drama: ‘ignorant’ audiences or performing publics?” Presenting in panel titled “Audiences, circuits, and contested identities in film and television from the Middle East” at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, 17-20 November.
  1. “The harem, Hürrem, and the truth: restorative nostalgia and the veiling of a Magnificent heroine.” Presenting in the Popular Culture Working Group at the International Association for Media and Communication Research, Leicester, UK, 27-31 July.
  1. “Cinemas of strategy and theaters of in/ex-hibition: film festivals and the sites of struggle over censorship in Turkey.” Presenting at University of South Florida Postdoctoral Fellows’ Symposium titled “The great divergence: methodologies of space, place, and movement,” Tampa, Florida, 25 March.
  1. “Cynical Valley: conspiracy genres in the Turkish TV drama Valley of the Wolves.” Presenting at session titled “Media and cultural expression in contemporary Turkey” at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting, Denver, Colorado, 21-24 November.
  1. “Magnificent gender Valley: heteronormative performance among publics of popular Turkish TV drama.” Presenting at session titled “Cultures of difference: the everyday makings of heteronormativity” at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Denver, Colorado, 18-22 November.
  1. “Censor-seep: cinema, ‘sansür,’ and strategy at film festivals in Turkey (2014 – 2015).” Populism, majoritarianism and crises of liberal democracy, Consortium of European Symposia on Turkey, Graz, 2 October.
  1. “Cinema, ‘sansür,’ and strategy: censorship and resistance at film festivals in Turkey (2014 – 2015).” Istanbul Studies Center Fellows Symposium, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, 14 May.
  1. “The plotting of news: ‘ignorant’ audiences and transmedia telling in Valley of the Wolves and beyond.” Presenting at the International Conference on Conflict, Terrorism, and Society, Kadir Has University, Istanbul, 7 – 8 April.
  1. “Conspiracy’s Howl: Valley of the Wolves and the conspiracy genre in Turkey.” CNRS, INALCO, Université Paris 8, IFEA conference on Turkish TV series, Paris, 16 – 18 October.
  1. “Spectacular realism and imperial nostalgia: the rise of the Ottoman costume drama in contemporary Turkey.” Presenting at session titled “The new spectacle: politics, entertainment, and civilizing missions” at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, Chicago, Illinois, 19 – 24 November.
  1. “Magnificent shifter: ‘neo-Ottomanism’ in contemporary Turkey.” Presenting at session titled “Performing the self and nation” at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, 10 – 13 October.
  1. “Pilgrimage, popular culture, and monumental politics: Magnificent Century and the mediation of spatial practice in Istanbul” at ZEIT-Stiftung seminar, “History takes place: dynamics of urban change – Istanbul,” Istanbul, 8 – 21 September.
  1. “Of babies and burlap bags: key moments and the making of the US image in Turkey.” Presenting at session titled “Contours of Turkish foreign policy” at the SETA Young Scholars on Turkey conference, Washington DC, 5 February.
  1. “Nostalgia for the present: struggle for the nation in Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl).” Organized and presented in panel on media and nation in Turkey – Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Paris, 2 – 6 July.
  1. “The Valley in Turkish-Israeli relations: Kurtlar Vadisi and the imaging of conflict.” Organized and presented in a panel on nationalities and nationalism in Turkish media at the Association for the Study of Nationalities World Convention, Columbia University, New York City, 14 – 16 April.
  1. “Valleys of convergence: reception in the Kurtlar Vadisi (Valley of the Wolves) franchise.” Presented in panel on communications and media at the Central Eurasian Studies Conference, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 6 March.
  1. “Martyrs and traitors: a study of the narrative web spun for Operation Sun (Güneş Harekatı) in Hürriyet.” Organized and presented in a panel on Turkish media and the question of identity at the Middle East Studies Association annual meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, 21 – 24 November.
  1. “Eydeological jeans: capitalizing on the Turkish headscarf debate?” Presented in a panel on psychoanalysis in communication at the National Communication Association annual meeting, Chicago, Illinois, 12 – 15 November.
  1. “Distilling ideologies: opinion page strategies for explaining the Turkish elections to foreigners.” International Symposium on Communication in the Millennium, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, 14 – 16 May.
  1. “Why zine up? Collaborative learning in composition and EFL classrooms.” Middle East Technical University International ELT Convention, Ankara, Turkey, 3 – 5 May.
  1. “Zines: a multi-vocal, multi-genre approach to classroom collaboration.” Best Practices in Teaching Writing Conference, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey, 4 – 5 March.
  1. “Use of student zines for collaborative composition.” Organized and presented in panel titled, “Flipping the word: creative and collaborative assignments in first-year composition” at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, New York City, 19 – 22 March.
  1. “Writing and witnessing 9/11 in the classroom.” Presented in panel titled, “Re-interpreting, re-imagining, re-vising English 101.” University of Arizona Spring Composition Conference, Tucson, Arizona, 2 March.

Special Programs

  1. Anthropology of Media in Turkey – Istanbul, September – a by-invitation workshop sponsored by Wenner-Gren Foundation and Kadir Has University – delivered a paper on film festivals and censorship.
  1. Genius Voci / Direnen Mekan – Creative Documentary Development Workshop in conjunction with Documentarist and Festival Dei Popoli, May and June – to develop a documentary and transmedia project called Mirror for the Fountain on urban change in Istanbul.
  1. History Takes Place – The Dynamics of Urban Change – Istanbul, September – two-week workshop during which I developed a project on Magnificent Century and the mediation of monumental spaces in Istanbul.

Research Grants

WEFRAH research grant: “The sheep from the future? Steps to a new coupling of pastoralism, ecosystems and consumers in an age of environmental degradation”; Co- principle investigator (for documentary film production) on project directed by Principle Investigator Sylvain Perdigon, American University of Beirut (2019-2021).

University of South Florida Social Sciences and Humanities Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship – supporting research on popular media and censorship in Turkey through the department of Communication (2015 – 2017).

Sansürsüz Sinema (Uncensored Cinema) research grant – supporting research on censorship in Turkey through an ethnographic investigation of Istanbul film festivals (2015).

Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Completion Fellowship – supporting the writing of my dissertation on the circulation of popular Turkish media texts (2013 – 2014).

Mellon-IIE Grant for Dissertation Research (replacement for Fulbright Hays canceled due to budget cuts) – supporting ethnographic research related to the above project (2011 – 2012).

Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant – also supporting ethnographic research related to the above project (2011 – 2013).

Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) Summer Research Fellowship – supported interview-based research on the writing, marketing, and selling of the Turkish bestselling book Metal Fırtına (Metal Storm) (2009).

Indiana University Pre-Dissertation Research Grant – supported the same research project as detailed above, allowing me to spend the entire summer in Istanbul on the project (2009).

Fulbright Scholarship: Traditional Herbal Healing in Malawi – supported ethnobotanical research on traditional healers, their plant remedies, and the effects of deforestation on their practice (1997 – 1998).

Other Awards

Kadir Has University – Istanbul Studies Center PhD Fellowship – supporting research on censorship in Turkey through an ethnographic investigation of Istanbul film festivals (2014 – 2015).

Indiana University Graduate Student Professional Organization (GPSO) Graduate Student of the Month – recognizing excellence in scholarship and service to the Indiana University community (2011).

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, US Department of Education / Indiana University – awarded for introductory study of Kurmanji Kurdish (2010 – 2011).

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship / Advanced Directed Language Study (ADLS), US Department of Education / Indiana University – awarded for advanced independent study of Turkish (2008 – 2009).

Virginia Gunderson Award – a faculty nominated award presented for the best seminar paper written in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University (2008).

American Research Institute in Turkey / American Association of Teachers of Turkic (ARIT/AATT) Summer Language Fellowship – awarded for the study of Turkish language at the advanced level at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul (2008).

Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, US Department of Education / University of Colorado, Boulder – awarded for the study of Turkish language. I completed the advanced Turkish sequence offered by the DILMER language school and received Turkish Ministry of Education’s course completion certificate (2007).

Equity and Excellence Award, University of Colorado – awarded to a single graduate student from CU for promoting diversity, in my case for founding Ritmos Latinos, a dance group with members ranging from 17 to 70 years of age and representing over ten countries (2007).

Foundation Award for Nonfiction Writing, University of Arizona – given to the most promising writers in the U of A program based on a submitted sample of work (2003).

Ruth Gardner Teaching Award, University of Arizona – based on my immediate and effective integration of the events of 9/11/2001 into the composition classroom (2002).

Stanley Brode Memorial Biological Sciences Award – awarded to a single student from the Department of Biology at Whitman College based on research and classroom performance (1996).

Academic Service

Advising

MA Theses Advised

Jana Al Malwed, “A mediated past of a displaced nation: The Palestinian Expatriation as prosthetic memory for third-generation Palestinian refugees in Lebanon”; Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies; in process.

Tahani Nassar, “Palestinian oral history: mediated memories across generations”; Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies; in process.

Committee Member

5 MA thesis committees in Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies: Reem Joudi, Nada Homsi, Zainab Chamoun, Maya El Dib, Susan Kemanzi (2018 – 2019).

Undergraduate Advisor

Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies: fall 2018 – 38 students; spring 2019 – 36 students; fall 2019 – 64 students.

Committees

Graduate Studies Committee, American University of Beirut (2019 – present).

Board of Graduate Studies, American University of Beirut (2019 – present).

Hiring Committee for 3 faculty positions in Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies; , American University of Beirut (2017 – 2019).

Organizing

Organizing Committee Member, Media Infrastructures in the Middle East conference, American University of Beirut, January 2020.

Campus Liaison for Beirut Art Film Festival, organized 8 screenings of 16 films, November 2019.

Organized visit (public talk, class visit, reading group, activist forum) of University Research Board scholar Nicholas Mirzoeff, October 2019 – canceled due to political protests in Beirut.

Organized visit (public talk, class visit, and film screening) of University Research Board scholar Zeynep Gürsel, April 2019.

Organized visit (public talk, graduate student meeting) of visiting scholar Suncem Koçer, April 2018.

Scientific Committee Member, International Media and Nostalgia Network conference, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden, November 2018.

Peer Review

Peer Reviewer for Cultural Anthropology; Culture, Theory and Critique; International Journal of Middle East Studies; Middle East Critique; Journal of Turkish Studies; Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies (2013 – 2019).

Peer Reviewer for edited book manuscript from Ubiquity Press (2019).

Nonfiction Editor, Bellingham Review – reading, judging, and editing submissions to literary journal; training readers; organizing annual Annie Dillard contest for creative nonfiction (2000 – 2001).

Community Service

Hoosiers for Peace in the Middle East, Bloomington, Indiana

Co-founder and President of organization          2010 – 2011

Founding, promoting, and administering a student and community organization dedicated to promoting education, dialog, and action with the goal of achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Events sponsored include film screenings, invited speakers, and panel discussions.

Ritmos Latinos Dance Group, Bloomington, Indiana

Founder, President, Advisor and Lead Instructor of student club          2007 – 2011

Founding, promoting, administering, advising and teaching for a student and community organization at Indiana University. Organizing club schedules and activities, liaising between University administration and the group administration, budgeting and fund-raising for a group with an annual budget of approximately $6,000, administering twice yearly fiesta events with live music drawing hundreds of participants from Bloomington and other cities, promoting community outreach in the Bloomington area. Teaching classes of up to 100 people, teaching workshops in teaching dance, directing performance group and performing at numerous events in Bloomington, Indianapolis, and the region.

Ritmos Latinos Dance Group, Boulder, Colorado

Founder, President and Lead Instructor of club and non-profit organization          2006 – 2007

Same as above with a group in the Boulder/Denver area.

Ritmos Latinos Dance Group, Tucson, Arizona

President and Instructor of student club at the University of Arizona          2002 – 2003

Similar to the above with a pre-existing group in the Tucson area.

Languages

Turkish: strong speaking and reading; fair writing.

Spanish: strong reading; fair speaking and writing.

Levantine Arabic: beginner.

Memberships

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

International Communication Association (ICA)

International Media and Nostalgia Network (IMNN)

Middle East Studies Association (MESA)

National Communication Association (NCA)

Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)