Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, I am a Ph.D. researcher in the Department of Sociology at Michigan State University. My dissertation investigates the self-initiated integration strategies of middle-class Syrians in Istanbul, focusing on how they leverage their social and economic capital in the absence of government-led integration policies and within a politically and socially challenging environment.
I earned my master’s degree in social psychology, where I explored the attitudes of Turkish citizens toward Syrians in Turkey. During this time, I began working with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and later continued my humanitarian efforts at the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM), the largest implementing partner of UNHCR in Turkey. At ASAM, I managed a community center in Istanbul, gaining invaluable firsthand experience with the complexities of refugee support.
These formative experiences profoundly influenced my critical perspective on migration research and humanitarianism. At Michigan State, my research centers on the macro-structural forces driving international migration and the dynamics of humanitarianism. I explore key questions such as how paternalism and power relations shape humanitarian interventions and how migrants engage in placemaking, navigating patterns of exclusion and inclusion in urban spaces.
Outside of my primary research, I find joy in observing, thinking about, and writing on topics like street animals and interspecies interactions—my academic guilty pleasure. I love being surrounded by animals, and you can often find me rowing along Istanbul’s Bosphorus or Michigan’s beautiful rivers—or anywhere I can use a rowing machine—especially at sunrise.
EZGİ KARAOĞLU 