Research summary:
My doctoral research examines queer feminist resistance to anti-gender politics in Turkey, focusing on the relation between affect, authoritarianism and political agency. I am interested in how feminist and queer actors sustain collective meaning under repression, and how emotions, embodied practices and everyday forms of solidarity shape resistance. Using qualitative, ethnographic and participatory methods, my project explores these processes in the context of shrinking civic space and increasing pressure on feminist and queer life.
Bio:
İrem Sumru Müftüoğlu is a doctoral researcher in Human Geography at Durham University. She holds an MA in Sociology from Boğaziçi University, where her thesis examined performative strategies against hate speech targeting sexual identity, and a research MA in Social Sciences from Humboldt University of Berlin, where she studied youth activism and affective politics during the March 2025 mobilisations in Turkey. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Philosophy. Her doctoral research brings these earlier interests together through a focus on affect, authoritarianism and queer feminist resistance in Turkey. Her academic work is shaped by experience in independent research, project management, and civil society initiatives.
