Colleen Kennedy-Karpat

Colleen Kennedy-Karpat is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Design (COMD) at Bilkent University's Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture, where she serves as Graduate Programs Coordinator and directs both the M.A. in Media and Visual Studies and M.F.A. in Media and Design programs. Her academic profile centers on film and adaptation studies, with emphases on French cinema, stardom, and cultural prestige mechanisms.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in French Literature and Culture from Rutgers University (2011)
• M.A. in French Literature and Culture from Rutgers University (2004)

Dr. Kennedy-Karpat's research investigates adaptation across media platforms, French cinematic traditions (particularly 1930s cinema and contemporary auteurs like Agnès Varda), and the cultural economies of awards and stardom. She examines transnational flows in media production, nostalgia's role in adaptation, and pedagogical approaches to film studies, often intersecting gender studies and postcolonial theory. Her work bridges historical analysis with digital humanities methodologies.

Her publication trajectory reveals evolving expertise from foundational French cinema studies toward digital sustainability (e.g., Agnès Varda's legacy) and transnational adaptations (e.g., Turkish cinema, video games). Recent projects demonstrate interdisciplinary reach across gender studies, science fiction, and pedagogy, while maintaining core focus on adaptation theory and cinematic prestige systems.

Award recognition includes:

• Northeast Modern Language Association Book Award for Rogues, Romance, and Exoticism in French Cinema of the 1930s (2013)

As an educator, she oversees graduate programs and teaches courses including Analysis of Moving Image, Film Theory and Criticism, and Adaptation in Media. She co-hosts the podcast "You Made Me Watch That?!" (2022–present) and contributes to the Bilkent Media Future Initiative and New Media Open Lab, fostering collaborative research in media production and digital storytelling. Her conference organization includes "Gender and Sustainability: Agnès Varda’s Sustaining Legacy" (2020) and the upcoming Association of Adaptation Studies conference "Adaptation, Restoration, Rebirth" (2025).