Ph.D. Candidate, ABD
University of California,
Irvine, Department of Political Science
Mailing Address: 3151 Social Sciences
Plaza, Irvine, CA, 92697-5100
Phone: (858) 442-5691---E-mail:
sozyurt@uci.edu
Website: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~sozyurt
Ph.D. Candidate, (ABD) Political Science, University of California,
Irvine
Expected
graduation date: April 2008
Dissertation Title: Integrating Muslim Immigrant Women in the US
and the Netherlands: How Islamic Institutions, Immigrant Organizations and
Religious Interpretations Affect the Process
.
Description: By far one of the most influential
meta-narratives in effect today is a presumed “clash” between the western and
the Islamic civilizations. Many scholars have paid attention to the ways in
which this meta-narrative has influenced foreign policy decisions of western
governments towards Muslim majority countries. But an equally important -and
largely overlooked- question is how this same narrative affects the
relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims who live side by side within
western host societies and contribute to societal stability and (in)security.
In an effort to understand the impact of religious practices, identities and
institutions on immigrant integration process, my dissertation examines the ways in which
Islam and Islamic institutions in Western Europe and
North America facilitate or hinder the socialization
and integration of Muslim immigrant women. Using
a multi-method research design consisting of survey data and qualitative
interviews with female congregation of mosques, religious leaders of the
community and founders and members of Muslim women’s associations in Southern
California and Amsterdam, I evaluate how Muslim immigrant institutions empower
Muslim immigrant women through their activities and teachings, and through the
services and resources they make available to their congregation/clients. On a
broader level, my research evaluates the conditions under which Islamic
institutions act as bridge builders versus boundary markers between the Muslim
immigrant community and the larger host society, thus promoting (or failing to
do so) societal security and peaceful coexistence.
Committee Members: Cecelia Lynch (Chair), Louis
DeSipio, and Karen Leonard
Research
Interests: Immigration and Citizenship, Religion, Gender, and
Identity, Islam and the West, International Relations and Security, Comparative
Politics, Political Psychology
M.A. Degree University
of South Florida, Department of Government and International Affairs
Research Interests:
International Relations; International Organizations, Security
B.A. Degree University
of Istanbul, Turkey, Department of International Relations
Publications_________________________________________________________________________
Monroe, K.R., Alexander, A.,
Ozyurt, S and Wrigley, T. “Gender Equality in Academia: Bad News From the
Trenches and Some Possible Solutions” Perspectives on Politics.
(Forthcoming)
Jafari, M., Elahi, F., Ozyurt, S., Wrigley, T. 2007. “Religious Perspectives on Embryonic Stem Cell Research” in The Fundamentals of the Stem Cell Debate: The Scientific, Religious, Ethical, and Political Issues. K. Monroe et al. (eds.), University of California Press.
Solingen, Etel and Saba Senses Ozyurt. 2005. “Mare Nostrum: The Sources, Logic and Dilemmas of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership” in The Convergence of Civilizations? Constructing a Mediterranean Region. E. Adler, B. Crawford, R. del Sarto and F. Bicchi (eds.), University of Toronto Press.
Tapert, Susan, Saba Senses
Ozyurt, Mark G. Myers, Sandra A. Brown. 2004. “Neurocognitive Ability in Adults
Coping with Alcohol and Drug Relapse Temptations” The American Journal of
Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Vol 30, Issue 2.
Teaching
Assistant,
University of California, Irvine
• Psychology of Conflict in the Middle East Spring 2007
• Islam and the West Winter 2007
• Social Science Research Methods Summer 2006**, Summer 2007**
• Micro Political Theory Winter 2006**; Spring 2006**; Spring 2005**
• Introduction
to International Relations Fall
2005; Spring 2004
**Recognized for
outstanding teaching evaluations (received 6 or higher teaching effectiveness
scores on a 7 scale)
(Responsibilities as a
TA: Lead three weekly discussion sessions; teach and mentor approximately
eighty undergraduates per quarter; create original lesson plans and effective
classroom activities each week; complete administrative class duties such as
grading, holding office hours, and record keeping)
Guest
Lecturer, University of California, Irvine
Course:
Micropolitical Theory April 8, 2006
Lecture
Topic: Rousseau and the Social Contract
Guest Lecturer, University
of California, Irvine
Course: Gender and
Globalization April
26, 2005
Lecture topic: Culture,
Religion and Women’s Rights
Course:
World Politics August 1999-January 2000
(Responsibilities: Create and lead effective course
lesson plans, lectures, and classroom activities; teach and mentor
approximately forty undergraduate students)
Research
Experience__________________________________________________________________
Research Assistant Fall 2007
Center for Global
Conflict and Peace Studies (CGPACS), UCI
Director: Cecelia Lynch
Responsibilities
include searching and applying for grants for the Center, writing proposals,
meeting with intramural and extramural funding agency representatives.
Visiting Researcher Fall 2006
ERCOMER (European
Research Center on Migration and Ethnic Relations)
University of Utrecht,
the Netherlands
Director: Henk Dekker
Conducted in-depth
interviews with 1st and 2nd generation Muslim immigrant
women, Muslim women’s associations, Islamic leaders (imams) of mosques, and
city officials working on inter-cultural relations and immigrant integration in
Amsterdam and Utrecht
Research Assistant Fall
2002- Fall 2004
Principal
Investigator: Kristen Monroe
Collected data by conducting semi-structured interviews with female
faculty at UCI on gender equity in academia. Analyzed the data using N-Vivo
qualitative analysis software
Research Assistant January
2001-August 2002
University
of California, San Diego, Psychology Department
Principal
Investigator: Susan Tapert
Conducted
interviews with subjects who have been treated for alcohol/drug addiction.
Administered cognitive and neurological tests to subjects
Research Assistant August 1996-May 1999
University of South
Florida, Department of Government and International Affairs
Assisted Professor Earl
Conteh-Morgan, Professor Mohsen Milani and Professor Steven Tauber.
Provided research support including
literature reviews, data collection, archival search, and administrative
assistance to assigned professors
Qualitative and
Quantitative Data Analysis Software Used:
N-Vivo
Qualitative Interview Analysis Software
SPSS,
Statistical Package for Social Sciences
Excel
Spreadsheet
· Graduate Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (2008)
· UC Regents’ Dissertation Writing Fellowship, Winter 2008 ($5000 for 3 months)
· Harry Eckstein Distinguished Graduate Student Award, 2006/07 Academic Year
· Center for Citizen Peacebuilding Kugelman Research Fellowship, 2007/08 ($2500)
· Center for Organizational Research, Graduate Student Fellowship, 2007/08 ($1500)
· UCI Department of Political Science, Summer Research Funding, 2007 ($3500)
· Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS), Small Travel Grant, Summer 2007 ($1500)
· UC Berkeley Institute of European Studies (IES), Pre-dissertation Fellowship Award, 2006 ($3000)
· David Easton Outstanding Graduate Student Qualifying Paper Award, 2005/06 ($500)
· Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS), Small Research Grant, Summer 2006 ($500)
· Outstanding Teaching Award, School of Social Sciences, 2006 Winter, Spring and Summer quarters
· UC Regents’ Pre-dissertation Fellowship Award, 2005 ($4000 for 3 months - Winter Quarter)
· Outstanding Teaching Award, School of Social Sciences, 2005 Spring Quarter
· Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies (CGPACS), Research Travel Grant, Summer 2005 ($500)
· UCI School of Social Sciences Summer Fellowship Recipient, 2005
· UCI Political Science Department Summer Research Award, 2005
· UCI School of Social Sciences Summer Fellowship Recipient, 2004
· UCI Department of Political Science Summer Research Award, 2004
· UCI School of Social Sciences Summer Fellowship Recipient, 2003
· UCI Department of Political Science Research Award, Summer 2003
· Graduate Student Researcher, National Science Foundation Advance Project
Qualitative Research Methods Workshop, Institute on
Qualitative Research Methods (IQRM), Arizona State University (January
2-January 14, 2005)
SSRC/UCI International Migration Summer Institute (June 27-June
30, 2005)
“Between Tradition and Modernity: Impact of Religion and Religious Institutions on the Acculturation to Muslim Immigrant Women in the West” International Society of Political Psychology, Portland, Oregon, July 4-7, 2007.
“Muslim Women in Western
Societies: How Religion, Gender and Culture Affect Coping With Social Change”
Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Conference, San
Diego, CA, March 2006
“Constructing a Mediterranean Region” Roundtable
Discussion. Sponsored by the European Consortium for Political Research
(ECPR). International Studies
Association (ISA) Conference, San Diego, CA, March 2006
“Clash of Civilizations? The Status of Muslim immigrants in Western Europe and the US” Paper presented at the WISC Global International Studies Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, August 2005 “The Psychology of Academic Success: Discrimination and Coping among Women in Academia” (Co-authored with Kristen Monroe). Poster presented at International Society of Political Psychology Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada, July 2005
“An Institutional Analysis of
International Organizations: A Case Study of NATO”. Paper presented at the
International Studies Association Annual Meeting. Honolulu, HI, March 2005
“From
National Citizenship to Post-national Membership: A Comparative Study of the
Political Incorporation of Immigrants” Paper presented at the Western Political
Science Association Annual Meeting. Portland, Oregon, March 2004.
“Effects
of Political Institutions, Public Policies and Political Discourse on the
Acculturation and Incorporation of Immigrants” Paper presented at the
International Studies Association, West Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, Nevada,
October 2003.
Student
Advisory Board. “The UCI Difficult Dialogues Project-Imagining the Future:
Dissent, Dialogue and the Freedom to Inquire” (Funded by the Ford Foundation)
References__________________________________________________________________________
|
Prof. Cecelia Lynch Political Science Department University of California,
Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 2251 Irvine, CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-2745 clynch@uci.edu |
Prof.
Louis DeSipio Political Science Department University of California, Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 5283, Irvine, CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-1420 ldesipio@uci.edu |
|
Prof.
Karen Leonard Anthropology
Department University of California,
Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 4283, Irvine, CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-5136 kbleonar@uci.edu |
Prof.
Etel Solingen Political Science Department University of California, Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 5259 Irvine,
CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-6732 esolinge@uci.edu |
|
Prof. Kristen Monroe Political Psychology University of California,
Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 4103, Irvine, CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-6092 krmonroe@uci.edu |
Prof. Shawn Rosenberg Political Psychology University of California,
Irvine 3151
Social Science Plaza, SSPB 4119, Irvine, CA 92627-5100 (949)
824-7143 swr@uci.edu |
|
Prof. Mohsen Milani Government and International Affairs University of South Florida 4202
E. Fowler Ave SOC107, Tampa, FL (813)
974-0849 milani@cas.usf.edu |
Prof.
Earl Conteh-Morgan Government and International Affairs University of South Florida 4202
E. Fowler Ave SOC107, Tampa, FL (813)
974-0787 conteh-m@chuma1.cas.usf.edu |