Ozlem Ezer

Ozlem Ezer believes reading and writing are inseparable parts of her identity. She studied English Language and Literature at Bogazici University in Istanbul, and received an M.A. and Ph.D. in women’s and gender studies at METU, Ankara and York University in Toronto, respectively.

Her deepest passion is for studying women’s lives in their own words, which has led her to the intersection of academic and creative writing. She has developed an expertise in life writing as a result, and her interest in recording and capturing lives significantly shapes her academic and personal writing.

Through her archival work, she focuses on marginalized texts and uses them as tools to criticize and contextualize canon formation in both English and Turkish literature. Additionally, she composes short biographies of feminist figures, such as Şirin Tekeli, in collaboration with them, to restore agency to their own narratives. She is particularly interested in recording the oral histories of women in underprivileged regions of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In general, she finds Mediterranean cultures fascinating, and is eager to collaborate with others who share similar research interests. Outside of her academic life, she has volunteered and worked in a professional capacity with women’s shelters in both Turkey and the United States.

Ozlem has been the recipient of funding and support from assorted international institutions, including the Arte Diem International Festival in Brussels, the DAAD, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, the Lisbon Consortium, Swedish Research Institute, Gexcel (Center for Gender Excellence), European Summer School in the Digital Humanities, and the Department of Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies at York University.

Her work has been published in national and international publications, and her book, Dogu, Bati ve Kadin was published in 2012. She has taught English Literature, Sociology and English as a Second Language at various universities since 1997. As of 2007, she has taught courses in literature and literary theory at the Middle East Technical University in Northern Cyprus.

In the future, she hopes to teach courses on travel and life writing, representations of women and Orientalism, and contemporary Turkish women’s literature. She believes in the healing effects of cooking, nature walks, and sharing daily stores with friends.