Collegiate Affiliation

Ali Yıldırım is a Ph.D. candidate in the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. Before joining UMN, he worked as a teaching assistant at Istanbul Bilgi University for five years. He holds a master's degree in Cultural Studies from the same university.

Driven by his personal stories, Ali focused on the experiences of LGBT+ Alevis in Istanbul in his master's research. In this study, Ali critiques the heteronormative readings of "minority" existence with first-hand ethnographic knowledge from within the Alevi communities. He critically approaches the theoretical and political silence inherent in the notions of a "good" minority, kinship, and family without omitting the systematic oppression against the marginalized populations in Turkey. Expanding on his master's research, Ali continues to research the intersections of sexuality, queerness, sect/religion, and forms of power by focusing on Alevi cultural lifeworld and politics in the Turkish context. As a queer feminist activist and intersectional thinker, Ali is interested in feminist research methods, popular culture, the politics of queer social movements, affect, and memory.

Ali is committed to a pedagogical understanding that bridges activism, theoretical knowledge, and education. He approaches teaching and co-learning as an art form far beyond the formal classroom and within a significant (life-long) joyous process. Ali believes in learning from human and more-than-human stories and continues to explore these stories. 

P.s. The photo above is from Yerevan, Armenia. The graffiti says: "make dolma, not war." Dolma is a stuffed vegetable dish.

To read more about Ali's current project: https://cla.umn.edu/ridgs/news-events/profile/queer-feminist-possibilities-can?utm_source=University+of+Minnesota%2C+Twin+Cities&utm_campaign=0cba9271c5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_02_09_08_40_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a128f2ce-0cba9271c5-562426695

 

Educational Background
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Educational Background

  • B.A.: Psychology, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2015 -
  • B.A.: Television Reporting and Programming, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2015 -
  • M.A.: Cultural Studies, Istanbul Bilgi University, 2018 -