Alev Berberoğlu

Alev Berberoğlu is a Research Fellow at the Department Michalsky under the Max Planck Society, specializing in late nineteenth-century Ottoman visual culture. Her work focuses on Ottoman art history, photography, and cross-cultural interactions between Italy and the Ottoman Empire. She holds a Ph.D. from Koç University (2023), an MA in Arts Management from Yeditepe University, and a BA in English and Latin Literature from Istanbul University. She previously conducted research at the University of Bologna (Erasmus+ program) and the CETOBaC in Paris.

Her research project, The Image of Naples in Sultan Abdülhamid II's Photography Collection, examines Ottoman archival photography's role in cultural diplomacy and visual documentation. She has contributed to institutions like Museum Ludwig, ARTER Istanbul, and Sadberk Hanım Museum. Professional affiliations include the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association (OTSA), and Middle East Studies Association (MESA).

Berberoğlu’s scholarly contributions bridge art history, gender studies, and transnational cultural exchange, emphasizing underrepresented narratives in Ottoman visual archives. Her fellowship-supported research highlights photography's role in mediating Ottoman-Italian relations during the 19th century.