Zeynep Kiliç

Education
- Ph.D., Sociology, Arizona State University, 2006
- M.A., Sociology, Arizona State University, 1997
- B.S., Economics, Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey), 1992
Biography
A Fulbright U.S. scholar grant and a sabbatical grant from the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) took her to Turkey in 2015-2016 to complete her documentary Tables of Istanbul on food, identity and culture in Istanbul. After its premiere in April 2016, Tables of Istanbul has been screened at 27 film festivals in 15 countries. It has received 9 awards and recognitions, and was broadcast by Michigan's PBS station (WKAR). This project has been supported through grants by the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF), an UAA Innovate award as well as ITS and Fulbright.
Recently, Prof. Kilic was re-elected to the executive board of the Association for the Study of Food and Society, and co-chaired its 2019 annual conference in Anchorage with Dr. Hodges-Snyder of UAA and Prof. Rachel Miller of APU. In 2019, she received the Professor of the Year: Influence in Education Award from the National Society of Leadership & Success, UAA chapter. She was also a recipient of the Affordable Course Materials Award in 2020, awarded by UAA Consortium Library. Currently, she is working on her book "Geography of Food in Istanbul: Whose Cuisine Is It Anyway?" As most students would sympathize, she is late for her book deadlines and desperately needs an extension.
- "Towards a Sociology of Turkish Food: Zeynep Kilic's Tables of Istanbul" The Huffington Post, June 20, 2016
- "Digging into the Tables of Istanbul" Cornucopia, May 18, 2016
- UAA Bookstore talk, "Restaurant Reviews: Ethnic Food in the American Culinary Imaginary." Apr. 23, 2014, scroll to No. 26 on the list
- KSKA, Addressing Alaskans, panel member on the documentary "Girl Rising", sponsored by the Alaska World Affairs Council, Dec. 5, 2013
- Interview by Steve Grossmith at the Madrid International Film Festival (July 2017)
- "UAA Professor Explores Roots of Turkish Cuisine in Tables of Istanbul" Interview by Suzanna Caldwell, Anchorage Dispatch News (March 2017)
- "A Conversation with the Creator Tables of Istanbul" Interview by Tracy Kalytiak, Green & Gold News (March 2017)
Teaching Responsibilities
- Introduction to Sociology (SOC A101), face to face and online
- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (SOC A408)
- Sociology of Globalization (SOC A380), face to face and online
- Sociology Practicum (SOC A487)
- Special Topics: Sociology of Food (SOC A490), Food & Society (SOC A280), face to face and online
- Social Science Research Methods (SOC/PS A361)
- Application of Statistics to the Social Sciences (SOC A362)
- Food for Thought: Identity on the Table (HNRS A292)
Professional & Department Service
- Association for the Study of Food & Society (ASFS), Secretary (2018-2022)
- University of Toronto Press, Culinaria Book Series, Editorial Advisory Board (2020-)
- Fulbright U.S. Scholar Discipline Peer Review Committee (Sociology: Cultural, Organizational EUR Committee) (2018-20)
- National Endowment for the Arts, Reviewer for Research Grants in the Arts (2019)
- Chair, Committee on the Status of Women, Pacific Sociological Association (2014-15)
Publications
Maseda, Rebeca, DeFeo, Dayna and Zeynep Kılıç. Forthcoming. “The Individualization of Violence: Audience Responses to Representations
of Gender Violence,” Race/Gender/Class/Media: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers (5th edition). Edited by R. A. Lind. Routledge.
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2020. “Chapter 1: Social Theory and the Sociology of Eating,” in Sociology of Food, Pp. 3-33. Erhan Akarçay (Ed.). [Undergraduate Textbook]. Eskisehir (Turkey): Anadolu
University Open Education Publication (in Turkish).
Miller-Loessi, Karen and Zeynep Kılıç. 2020. “A Unique Diaspora? The Case of Adopted Girls from the People’s Republic of China,” in The Chinese Diaspora: Its Development in Global Perspective, L. Siu and K. Tölölyan (Eds.) (The Diaspora Series). Toronto: Zoryan Institute of Canada. (Reprint, 2001)
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2020. “Belonging is Hard Work: Food & Climate Dilemmas.” Istanbul University Sociology Journal (Istanbul Universitesi Sosyoloji Dergisi), 40(1): 29-37. DOI: 10.26650/SJ.2020.40.1.0102 (Invited contribution, Special Issue: Food & Society)
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2019. “Politics of Migrant Belonging - An Analysis of Turkish Migrant Associations
in New York Metropolitan Area.” In The Turkish-American Conundrum: Immigrants and
Expatriates Between Politics and Culture. G. Pultar, L. Mazzari & B. O. Baskett (Eds.).
Cambridge Scholars Publications. ISBN-13: 978-1527524286
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2017.“Geography of Social Class on Istanbul’s Dinner Tables,” Pp. 83 -94. In Places of Food Production. Origin, Identity, Imagination. Proceedings
of the 21st International Ethnological Food Research Conference (Dr. Rainer Wild-Stiftung,
Heidelberg, 31 August–2 September 2016). S. Bartsch & P. Lysaght (Eds.). Frankfurt
a. M.: Lang Verlag. Peer reviewed.
Defeo, D., Z. Kılıç, & R. Maseda. 2016. “From Productivity to Process: Flipping the Writing Group.” Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(3): 544-50.
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2016 (April). Tables of Istanbul. Documentary film. http://tablesofistanbul.com - Gold Movie Awards (London, June 2017) - Best Documentary Award, Gala del Cinema
Internazionale Venezia (Venice, Oct 2017) - Best Documentary, Madrid International
Film Festival (Spain, July 2017) - Finalist Best Story & Best Director of a Short
Documentary, Spotlight Documentary Film Awards (LA, June 2017) - Winner Gold Award,
Lady's First International Film Festival (Ireland, May 2017) - Best Voice Over, Taste
Awards (LA, Feb 2017) - Viewers' Choice Award best Feature-Length Film or Documentary,
Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards (LA, Nov 2016) - Cultural Feature
Award of Recognition, Canadian Diversity Film Festival (Nov 2016) - Best Documentary, IndieFest
Film Awards (LA, July 2016) - Award of Recognition. International Open Film Festival
(IOFF, Nepal, Dec 2018)- Documentary feature Film, Jury Choice Award.
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2015. “Eating My Way Through the World: Understanding Hierarchical Cultural Constructions
in Ethnic Restaurant Reviews.” Confinement, Resistance, Freedom (Conference Proceedings,
Cultural Studies Seminar). Izmir, Turkey: Ege University Press.
Kılıç, Zeynep and Rebeca Maseda. 2014. “Shifts in Spanish Flavors: Tracking Social Change in 18 Meals” Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3(3): 65-76.
Kılıç, Zeynep and Cecilia Menjivar. 2013. “Fluid Adaptation of Contested Citizenship: Second Generation Turks in Germany And The United States.” Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 19(2): 204-20.
Kılıç, Zeynep and Jennifer Petzen. 2013. “The Culture in Multiculturalism and Racialized Art.” - special issue of German Politics and Society, 31(2, Summer).
Kılıç, Zeynep. 2005. “Second Generation Turkish Immigrants in the U.S. and Germany: Dilemmas of Cultural Identity,” Pp. 163-81 in Crossing Over: Comparing Recent Migration in the United States and Europe, edited by Holger Henke. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Jacobson, David and Zeynep Kılıç. 2003. “European Citizenship and the Republican Tradition” PEGS, Good Society, Special Issue on European Citizenship Symposium. Volume 12, No.1, Pp. 31-34.
Career History/Work Experience
- Professor, UAA, Department of Sociology, 2019 - Present
- Chair, Department of Sociology, 2018-Present
- Visiting Professor, Ege University, Department of Sociology (Izmir, Turkey), 2016
- Fulbright US Scholar (Turkey), 2015-2016
- Fellow, Istanbul Studies Center, Kadir Has University (Istanbul, Turkey), 2015
- Associate Professor, UAA, Dept. of Sociology, 2015-2019
- Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), Department of Sociology (2010- 2015).
- Term Assistant Professor, UAA, Department of Sociology, (2009-2010).
- Term Instructor, UAA, Department of Sociology, (2008-2009).
- Senior Researcher, Arizona State University (ASU), University Technology Office, Applied Learning Technologies Institute (alt^I), (2005 - 2008).
- Research & Development Assistant, Faculty Support Specialist, Digital Media and Instructional Technologies/IS Lab (ASU), (2002 – 2005).
- Dissertation fieldwork in Berlin (Germany) and NYC (USA), (2001-2003).
- Teaching Associate & Teaching Assistant, Sociology Department, ASU, (1996-2001).
- Graduate Assistant, Development Office (ASU Foundation), (1995-1996).
Awards/Honors
- UAA Academic Innovations & elearning, Tech Fellow (2020-2021 & 2012-2013), #Pivot participant (2020)
- UAA Consortium Library, Affordable Course Materials Award (2020)
- UAA Professor of the Year (Influence in Education) Award, the National Society of Leadership and Success, UAA Chapter(2019)
- Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Turkey (Core Program, research), (2015-2016)
- Chancellor's Award for Excellence in University Diversity (2013).