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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
Our month-long sessions resulted in a workshop at CAS (LMU) last week, and in a few months, we will have a policy paper. It is time for me to get back to Istanbul.
As a UNESCO cultural heritage site, the city was on my list for a while. As our days in Munich were about to end, we took the scenic train route to Innsbruck for a weekend. It deserves a visit with all these medieval age buildings in the old city. Here is a quick tour for … Read more
Since our US trip this summer, Sinem and I have had a hobby of re-watching our iconic TV shows. After finishing up Lost and Prison Break, we started watching The Walking Dead. In fact, I haven’t watched it before, only a few episodes in the very first season. In general, I do not like the … Read more
I guess for some, it is not surprising, but I am surprised. TikTok is not a marginal platform. More than a hundred million American users are using it, and the American government is unashamedly banning it for national security reasons. That’s the declaration of defeat. US-based social media platforms have focused on profit so intensely … Read more