IQRS was initially planned as a 24-month project. Because the researcher Dr. Rüstem Ertuğ Altınay was awarded an ERC Starting Grant in Month 3, however, IQRS was terminated after Month 10. During these ten months, the researcher completed the rigorous multi-sited archival and ethnographic research program associated with the project. He has also produced diverse outputs in the form of publications, lectures, conference presentations, workshops, teaching, mentorship, and service.
The researcher completed a scholarly essay in English and submitted it to an international peer-reviewed journal. He has also written an essay in Turkish and submitted it to an eminent website. Throughout the project period, IQRS and all connected activities were promoted through the Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence (SUGender) Newsletter.
Dr. Altınay has delivered five invited lectures and one invited panel presentation at major universities in Turkey, Germany, and the United States: Kadir Has University, Sabancı University, Free University of Berlin, John Jay College, and Williams College. He has been invited to deliver other invited lectures in the United States and Turkey. The dates of these events will be determined according to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Altınay also presented his work at five international conferences and workshops in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Turkey, and the USA. As part of IQRS’s educational and public outreach activities, the researcher designed and taught two workshops for teachers and graduate students at his host institution Sabancı University and New York University. Dr. Altınay also shared the findings of his research in the classroom setting at Williams College and Sabancı University.
At Sabancı University, the researcher informally served as a mentor for interested graduate students as well as junior scholars. He also performed service work for Sabancı University and contributed to the broader scientific community as a peer-reviewer for four eminent scholarly journals.
Dr. Altınay’s most important achievement during the project period was the ERC Starting Grant he was awarded for the project Staging National Abjection: Theatre and Politics in Turkey and Its Diasporas. He decided to implement the project at Kadir Has University, where he now holds his first permanent position.
The researcher’s MSCA-IF fellowship and his ERC Starting Grant have been recognized by two EU FP (Horizon 2020) Success Awards from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. For his ERC project, he has also been the recipient of the Council's Transfer Award.
Dr. Altınay’s internationally successful profile, where the MSCA-IF fellowship played a key role, also resulted in a prestigious Young Scientist Award (BAGEP) from the Science Academy Society of Turkey.
The researcher was awarded a Summer Visiting Fellowship at the John Jay College, City University of New York for Summer 2020. The fellowship has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
