Affective states of critical academic production

Q&A with Dr Demet Gülçiçek

Demet is a Visiting Fellow in the department, an Honorary Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender, University of Warwick and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Munzur University, Turkey.

Where are you visiting us from?

It is always hard for me to answer where I come from, as I (have to/want to) move around several cities, institutions and political spaces regularly.

An answer could be about my affiliations. I am an honorary researcher at the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender, University of Warwick and work as an Assist. Prof. in Munzur University, Turkey. I received my PhD from University of Warwick, and masters and bachelor degrees from Middle East Technical University, Turkey, all in sociology departments.

An alternative answer could be positional, rather than geographical. I am visiting LSE at a point I am thinking about how feminist stances are attacked and defended so strongly at the same time, and about how/why we hold on to critical thinking at academic spaces.

What will you be researching in your time here?

My current research is about the affective states of critical academic production. As a part of a shared project, I am curious about the invisible/uncredited labour many of us do in academic production, especially in written forms, with a specific focus on editorial work, peer-reviewing and academic translations. My recent fieldwork directed me to unpack ‘good academy’ narrations, often told with nostalgic references to the past. This analysis is inspired by conceptualisation of Lauren Berlant’s cruel optimism and Sianne Ngai’s ugly feelings. I will work on this analysis during my visit.

Why did you want to visit LSE and the Department of Gender Studies as part of your research?

At the same time of researching about critical academic production, my work explores the transnational and postcolonial aspects of feminist movements, conceptualising women’s rights movements and popular feminism as travelling theories. LSE Department of Gender Studies is a great place to be around to think about the negotiation of feminist knowledge while attempting to understand the critical setting we produce knowledge in.

Why is Gender Studies an important discipline to study and research?

To me, the significance of gender studies is the intervention it makes to all social science and humanities departments. Feminist theories has been underlying that feminist knowledge is not “additional” to other theories but it requires to rethink everything we know constantly. This lively yet persistent attempt pushes the horizons in critical thinking. It allows us to imagine a different world and work on getting closer to that imagination while accepting that the imagination should be constantly rethought on the way.

What are you most excited to explore or visit in London?

I like that London provides an opportunity to think about many issues in every corner of its many streets; political history, colonialism, popular culture, critical art or intersections of these. I am excited about all these encounters!