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Sevilay Cesurer

MSc in Gender, Media and Culture, Class of 2023

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    Name: Sevilay Cesurer

    Programme and year: MSc Gender, Media and Culture 2023

What are you currently doing and where?

I am studying a PhD in Digital Migration Studies at UAL.

Why did you choose to study gender at LSE?

I chose to study Gender at LSE because of the programme’s interdisciplinary, transnational, and intersectional approach, which encourages students to critically engage in processes of (un)learning and (re)learning, while exploring the diverse ways feminist worlds are imagined, contested, and created.

How do you use what you learned at LSE Gender in your current role? Have there been any unexpected uses or applications of your gender expertise?

What I learned through Gender Studies at LSE is not something I apply only in specific professional contexts—it has fundamentally changed how I understand the world and my place within it. In many ways, it taught me to read both theories and worlds differently—to notice the impasses between narratives, the borders that shape belonging, and the unequal power relations that often appear normalised. That mindfulness continues to shape not only my research as a PhD candidate, but also my ethical, cultural and political instincts, reminding me that what appears given could always be otherwise. It remains one of the most enduring gifts of my time at LSE Gender—a home away from home, and a place from which I learned to imagine beyond the limits of what is.

What advice do you have for current and/or prospective LSE Gender students?

Grow the roots of your rhizome, ask questions, engage, laugh, cry and be willing to sit with discomfort. As Audre Lorde asked, “Can the master's tools dismantle the master's house?” We may never know unless we are willing to test the limits of what seems possible. Embrace the highs and lows of the journey. They will reveal strengths you didn't know you had and biases you didn't know you carried. Leave room for growth, and curiosity. You will not leave as the same person who arrived—and that's the whole point!