معرفی
Umut Erel is Professor of Sociology at the Open University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, where she also served as Head of the Sociology Discipline and Director of the Research Centre for Global Challenges and Social Justice (2021–2024). Her research integrates migration, motherhood, and citizenship through an intersectional lens, employing participatory and arts-based methodologies.
Education: While specific degrees are not detailed, her academic trajectory includes a PhD examining skilled migrant women from Turkey in Britain and Germany (2009), foundational to her current work.
Research Interests: Her scholarship explores how gender, migration, and ethnicity shape citizenship practices. Key themes include:
- Migrant mothers’ roles in social cohesion and political activism
- Arts-based participatory methods (theatre, walking) in social research
- Intersectionality in migration and belonging
- Policy impacts on migrant families (e.g., ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’)
Projects and Impact: She has led major ESRC- and AHRC-funded projects, such as ‘Participatory Arts and Social Action Research (PASAR)’ (£452,821) and ‘Migrant Mothers Caring for the Future’ (£32,500). Her work informs policy through roles like Chair of Milton Keynes Council’s Ethnic Diversity Commission (2012–2014) and contributions to the Tate Exchange’s ‘Who Are We?’ project (2017–present).
Awards and Recognition: Editorial roles include Deputy Chair of Sociology (BSA journal) and Associate Editor of Citizenship Studies. Her 2009 monograph Migrant Women Transforming Citizenship is seminal in the field.
PhD Supervision: She has supervised five PhD students, including projects on Philippine migration, decolonizing the OU, and refugee citizenship in Greece.
