Hande Birkalan-Gedik

Prof. Dr. Hande Birkalan-Gedik is a Professor at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Faculty of Linguistics, Cultures and Arts, Goethe University Frankfurt. She holds a DFG-funded research position as Principal Investigator on the project Folklore Knowledge and Knowledge Transfer: Folklore Milieus, Formats and Venues in Turkey, (1950s–1980s). Previously, she served as a visiting professor at the same university and has held research fellowships at institutions including the University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt and Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

• Ph.D. and M.A., Folklore Institute and Department of Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington, USA
• B.A., Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey

Her research spans cultural anthropology, folklore studies, and gender studies, with a focus on Turkey, transnational migration, nationalism, and feminist theory. She investigates how folklore knowledge was produced outside academia in mid-20th century Turkey, the history of anthropology in Turkey (1850–1950), and gender regimes, particularly masculinity and fatherhood among Turkish migrants in Germany. Her theoretical frameworks include postcolonialism, world anthropologies, and traveling theory.

Her recent publications (2020–2025) reflect a strong thematic focus on the epistemology of folklore, transnational knowledge transfer, feminist anthropology, and the historiography of ethnology. These works explore how concepts like 'folk', 'culture', and 'nation' have been negotiated across German and Turkish academic traditions, often challenging Eurocentric narratives in anthropology.

She has led multiple externally funded research projects, including DFG, TÜBITAK, and DAAD-supported initiatives. She has also edited significant volumes such as Feminist Anthropology: Intercultural Perspectives from Turkey and the World (2020) and special issues on traveling theory and uncertainties in ethnology.

Prof. Birkalan-Gedik has supervised research and mentored scholars through her roles as PI and editor. Her work is supported by major research grants from DFG, TÜBITAK, DAAD, and Goethe University’s Open Access Fund. She has collaborated with institutions across Germany, Turkey, Austria, and the USA.

Her research is conducted through the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at Goethe University, where she leads a project team focused on historical and ethnographic analysis of folklore milieus in Turkey. She has also been affiliated with research networks on world anthropologies and transnational ethnographic knowledge.