معرفی
Rabia Harmansah is a cultural anthropologist specializing in religion, politics, and memory studies with regional expertise in Cyprus, Turkey, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. She served as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Lafayette College and was a Käte Hamburger Kolleg (KHK) Visiting Research Fellow from February to September 2018.
Her academic credentials include:
- Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh (2014)
- M.S. in Middle East Studies from Middle East Technical University (2006)
- B.S. in Public Administration from Hacettepe University (2000)
Harmansah's research examines social forgetting in post-conflict landscapes through ethnographic analysis of shared religious sites. Her work investigates how communities negotiate coexistence at sacred spaces in divided societies like Cyprus and Turkey, focusing on museumification processes, historical narrative construction, and intercommunal dialogue. She actively bridges academic research with public engagement through participatory anthropology projects.
Her scientific recognition includes the Wenner-Gren Foundation Engaged Anthropology Grant supporting community-centered documentation of shared spaces in Cyprus.
Harmansah's research trajectory spans fieldwork on religious site sharing in Turkey (2007-2009), consultancy for the Cyprus Critical History Archive Project (2010-2012), and her doctoral dissertation analyzing social forgetting through two years of ethnographic work in both Cypriot jurisdictions. Her current exhibition project employs public anthropology methodologies to collect local narratives and visual materials, directly engaging Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in dialogue initiatives.
