Nurcan Atalan-Helicke

Nurcan Atalan-Helicke serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College, teaching foundational courses including Environmental Concerns in Perspective and advanced seminars such as Political Ecology (a civic engagement course), The Politics of Food, and Global Environmental Governance. Her academic profile bridges geography and international relations through critical examinations of food systems and environmental justice.

Her educational trajectory includes a Ph.D. in Geography from Ohio State University, complemented by an M.A. and B.A. in International Relations from Bilkent University and Middle East Technical University respectively. This interdisciplinary foundation informs her research approach.

Dr. Atalan-Helicke's scholarship centers on the intersection of food sovereignty, religious identity, and ecological sustainability, with three core emphases: First, the conservation of agricultural biodiversity through studies of traditional wheat landraces in Turkey. Second, critical analyses of halal food systems examining tensions between religious values, organic certification, and genetically engineered foods. Third, food justice initiatives documenting maternal activism around healthy food access and pandemic-era food distribution resilience. Her methodological toolkit combines participatory mapping, ethnographic fieldwork, and critical discourse analysis.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals evolving focus from foundational work on seed governance (2012-2015) toward contemporary investigations of pandemic food systems (2020-2023) and emerging FEW Nexus pedagogy (2025). Geographically, her research maintains strong Turkey-U.S. comparative frameworks while increasingly incorporating global halal market dynamics.

She actively mentors undergraduate researchers, evidenced by student co-authorship on projects including U.S. seed library regulations and wheat landrace conservation in Turkey. Her collaborative work with CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) demonstrates applied research impact, while community-engaged courses like Political Ecology translate scholarship into civic practice.

Current initiatives include participatory mapping of wheat landrace conservation (via ArcGIS StoryMap) and municipal policy analyses for traditional grain marketing in Turkey, reflecting her commitment to bridging academic research with community food sovereignty movements.