Department of Anthropology and Sociology

Ozgur Yetiser

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Key information

Department: Department of Anthropology and Sociology
Qualifications: BA (High Honours) in Sociology at Istanbul Bilgi University
MA (Distinction) in Social Anthropology at SOAS University of London
Email address: 714274@soas.ac.uk
Thesis title: Navigating London ‘Autistically’: Autistic Lived Experiences London’s Urban Sensescapes and Negotiating Ethnographic Methods in the Study of ‘Autistemologies’ of Urban Space
Internal Supervisors: Dr Benjamin Bowles & Dr Nikita Simpson

Biography

Oz’s research interests stand at the intersection of multi-sensory anthropology, anthropology of ethics, and anthropology of space. They completed their BA in Sociology at Bilgi University in Istanbul, Turkey. During their time in Istanbul (a cacophonic metropolis they have a love-hate relationship with), they grew curious about the studies of the senses, sound in particular, from an anthropological perspective.

After graduating, they pursued this curiosity through an MA in Social Anthropology at SOAS University of London. Their MA studies addressed their concerns about ethical dimensions of sensory relations from a critical museological perspective. Their MA dissertation titled “Looking After Sound”, supervised by Dr. Alice Rudge, presented a discursive, textual analysis of ethics manuals related to the care of musical instruments in museums, and examined museum conservation as a cultural practice, grappling with the concepts of ‘care’ as a political act, and ‘ruination’ amidst ever-decaying materials vis a vis the promise of livelihood in the preservation of musical heritage.

Their PhD research follows similar themes of ethics in the realm of sensory relations, and focuses on autistic lived experiences of London’s urban sensescapes, with particular interest in ethical dimensions of sensory composition of urban space, and the neuroqueering of ethnographic methods towards empowering marginalised ways of sensing the world. A proud ‘methods nerd’, Oz is simultaneously an advocate and critic of ethnographic methodology. Their interest in the study of the senses inclines them to explore the limits and potential of ethnographic methods, in particular that of sensory ethnography.

As an autistic anthropologist, they are passionate about collaborating with epistemic minorities (i.e. those people who not only have been denied inclusion in the production of knowledge but also have had their ways of knowing threatened) in the discussions around the methodological (hence, ethical) concerns of ethnographic fieldwork. While most of Oz’s research follows themes of senses and ethics, they have a wide range of academic interests, including (but not limited to) ethnomusicology, sound studies, critical museology, material culture, heritage studies, crip theory, phenomenology, ethics of care, medical anthropology, urban studies, actor network theory and multi-species anthropology.