Hailing from Yozgat, Turkey.

I have never been to Yozgat, but a full day of training on media literacy and countering disinformation allowed me to visit. The Bozok University Communication School hosted us, and I appreciated my colleagues’ efforts to be useful to their students. I did not have time to visit the downtown, but I stayed in a … Read more

My birthday presentation on Generative AI and Disinformation (!)

It was my birthday yesterday, and I am 49 now. As my close friends know, I prefer my routine life. I am a bit stressed with non-routine days, and accordingly, I am not excited to celebrate my birthday at all. Still, it is good to be beloved, and I know that I have my people … Read more

Turkish users flock to Bluesky after X restrictions. Here is a comprehensive Bluesky guide

This is the most significant migration to Bluesky in the Turkish context. Even my profile got over a hundred followers in a day. Someone created a basic site that allows X users to follow the people they follow on Bluesky. There are lists created to follow others and to block others! I moved the Bluesky … Read more

In Wroclaw, for a COST meeting

As Türkiye is embroiled in boycotts and other political clashes, I am spending a few days in Wroclaw, Poland, for a COST meeting. I recently joined this project and find it relevant to my research agenda. The RELINK2 Action will intensify existing networking efforts of scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds and countries in the EU … Read more

Who is Mahir Polat?

I wanted to talk about Mahir Polat. I did not meet him, but I always heard positive feedback about him. -I cannot say the same for many others in Imamoğlu’s inner circle- A modest person who worked hard to contribute to Istanbul’s cultural heritage. He was arrested along with Imamoğlu. In the last elections, he … Read more

Imamoğlu, who defeated the ruling party three times in Istanbul elections sent to prison

Well, Imamoğlu’s imprisonment seems like Turkish authorities symbolically annulled the right to vote and to be elected. Most Istanbulites elected him for the third time- he increased his votes every time-, and here is what we have now. Secondly, a strong potential rival of the current president is eliminated by imprisoning him. I observe a … Read more

I am quoted in this article: “Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives …in Turkiye”

Dear Bilge and her colleagues interviewed me, among other experts and academics, for the article: Şenyüz, B., Özgen, E., & Oğuzcan, A. U. (2025). Integrating GenAI into communication education for ‘generation prompt’: an exploration of academics’ perspectives on its benefits, challenges, and future prospects in Turkiye. Encontros Bibli: revista eletrônica de biblioteconomia e ciência da … Read more

Good piece: “How Heavy Metal Fuels Indigenous Revival in Patagonia”

  An anthropologist plunges into the world of Patagonian heavy metal music in Argentina to explore how the genre relates to language and cultural revitalization. Read the rest here: How Heavy Metal Fuels Indigenous Revival in Patagonia  

Unboxing- The email message that had informed me about my admission to Rice Anthro…

19 February 2001 Among myriad tasks and projects, I continue unboxing my personal history. Here is the print of the email from Prof. George Marcus. He announced my acceptance to the Rice Anthropology PhD program. I remember that day vividly. I got the message while working as a TA at the Bilgi Media Department. It … Read more

Istanbul under snow, Preparing syllabi for my courses, Playing Civ VII

After 4 or 5 years, Istanbul finally got a good load of snow that immediately broke down the city’s ordinary life. Traffic was overloaded, the roads were not good for many to drive, and schools were closed. We are not in a formal closure, but most lecturers worked at home as the classes will start … Read more

Newly released: Open educational materials for “Sustainability, circular economy, and creative computing”

I was also part of the preparation. Introduction Why did we create this material? Currently, there is an increasing concern about sustainability and robustness of complex infrastructures upon which many of our day-to-day activities depend. In the European Union, the term circular economy is a well-established element of the European Green Deal, describing a transformation … Read more

Finally a Google AI product that really helps: Notebook LM

I exaggerate a bit, but Google announces an AI product nearly every day. From time to time, I give Gemini another chance. Well, it works. I hear some friends use it productively. I made my choice favoring its rivals. However, I started trying NotebookLM, and I believe this looks good. It’s probably the best product … Read more

Here is the second part of “unboxing”; Milli İstirahat and more…

After a long hiatus, here is the second post in my unboxing series. Now that we are back in İstanbul, I can start looking around the boxes with a touch of nostalgia. 2006-2008 Milli İstirahat I have spent many evenings in coffeehouses playing cards until the pandemic! I guess until 2013, I spent more time … Read more

Teaching digital literacy to the future’s champions

Sinem and I had a digital literacy session with minor Eczacıbaşı Volleyball teams a few days ago. Eczabaşı is one of the most successful teams; some of its players are in the national team. Hopefully, we will see some of the players in our session become national team players in the future.  

STS Türkiye 2025 Winter School Program

It has been an honor to be part of STS Türkiye for more than four years. We could not get funding on time, so lecturers paid their own tickets to come and lecture in Ankara. Thanks to the Ministry of Youth, students could stay in a beautiful guest house! Monday, February 3, 2025 12:00Arrival 13.00-14.00Lunch … Read more