Dr. Gulay Kilicaslan

Biography

Gulay Kilicaslan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Law and Legal Studies, specializing in critical social-legal studies with a strong focus on forced migration studies, social movements, and feminist gender studies. Her academic background includes a B.Sc. from Middle East Technical University, an M.A. from Bogazici University, and a Ph.D. from York University, where she was awarded the Sociology Distinguished Dissertation Award in 2022. Her research interests include critical forced migration studies, refugee law, the politics of citizenship and resettlement, nation-state border violence, and digital activism. Currently, she is completing a book manuscript titled 'Deprovincializing Kurdish Politics: Forced Migration Activism Kurdistan, Turkey Europe,' which is based on her Ph.D. dissertation and explores the dynamics of Kurdish political mobilization and the impacts of forced displacement. She also examines the resettlement experiences of Yezidi genocide survivors and their mobilization strategies in Germany and Canada. Kilicaslan's writings contribute to scholarly discourse on Kurdish forced migrants, the Kurdish freedom movement, and digital feminist activism, reflecting her commitment to community-engaged, interdisciplinary approaches in research and teaching, with a strong emphasis on social justice.

Research Interests

Experience