Dr. Gülşah Başkavak

Tel: +90 212 293 60 67 / 116
Mail: baskavak@oiist.org

Dr. Gülşah Başkavak has been employed at the Orient-Institut İstanbul since February 2019 as a research fellow at the Human, Medicine and Society research area. She is currently working on issues relating to sociology of body, medical technologies, and digital health. She received her PhD degree in Sociology at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2016 with her dissertation on Understanding Surgical Craft in the Changing Context of Technology, Transformation of Healthcare and Marketization: A Case Study on Surgeons in Istanbul, Turkey. As part of her dissertation research, she conducted qualitative and ethnographic research in hospitals, clinics and operating theater. Her fields of interest include medicine-technology relationship, technological transformation and work, science and technology studies (STS), crafts and craftsmanship, medical sociology and, occupations and professions. Dr. Başkavak completed her undergraduate education at the Faculty of Economics of the Istanbul University, and received a MA degree from Marmara University with her thesis on The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Power Distribution in Organizations. She worked as research assistant at METU and Yıldız Technical University and took part in various national and international research projects on sociology of health, criminology and sociology of religion. During her graduate studies, she spent a year at the Social Sciences Faculty of the Humboldt University in Berlin. Dr. Başkavak’s post-doctorate research focuses on topics including medical sociology, sociology of body, new surgical technologies and the patients, digital health, professionalism in medicine, craft and technology.

Sociology of Health and Medicine

Sociology of Body

Science and Technology Studies (Medical and surgical technologies; work, medicine and technology relationship)

Crafts and Craftsmanship

Sociology of Work and Employment

Occupations and Professions (in particular, medical professions and surgical profession)

Health Policy

Digital Health

Qualitative Research Methods

24.11.2021: “‘Şiir gibi Ameliyat Yapmak’: Cerrahide Teknoloji, Zanaat ve Estetik [‘Poetic Surgery’: Technology, Craft and Aesthetics in Surgery]”. STS TURKEY 2021 Konferansı–STS: Bir Disiplin Olarak Kimlik İnşası İnşası [STS TURKEY 2021 Conference-The Construction of STS as a Discipline]. Ankara University (online).

23.11.2021 (with Melike Şahinol & Burak Taşdizen): “Cinsiyetlendirilmiş Hijyen: Erkeklerde Saç ve Kıl Bakım Pratikleri [Gendered Hygiene: Men’s Practices of Hair Care]”. STS TURKEY 2021 Konferansı–STS: Bir Disiplin olarak Kimlik İnşası [STS TURKEY 2021 Conference-The Construction of STS as a Discipline]. Ankara University (online).

21.06.2021: “Sosyolojide Farklı Bir Saha Deneyimi: Ameliyathanede Bir Sosyolog [A Different Field Experience in Sociology: A Sociologist in the Operating Room]”. İzmir Demokrasi University, Department of Sociology (online)

05.02.2021: “Tıp ve Teknoloji” [Medicine and Technology]. STS TURKEY Science, Technology and Society Winter School 2021. February 3-5, 2021.

29.01.2020: “‘Beni Robot Ameliyat Etsin İstiyorum’: Cerrah, Teknoloji ve Hasta” [‘I Want a Robot to Operate on Me’: Surgeon, Technology and Patient]. Lecture Series: Human, Medicine and Society: Past, Present and Future Encounters. Orient-Institut Istanbul.

09.11.2019: “Türkiye’de E-Sağlık ve Öz-Takip Teknolojileri” [E-Health and Self-Tracking Technologies in Turkey]. STS TURKEY 2019: Toplum için Bilim ve Teknoloji Çalışmaları Konferansı [Conference on Science and Technology Studies for Society]. September 10-12, 2019. İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi. (with M. Şahinol)

22.05.2019: “Türkiye’de Öz-Takip Cihazlarının Pratikleri ve Sosyo-Kültürel Boyutları: İlk Araştırma Bulguları” [Practices and Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Self-tracking Devices in Turkey: Preliminary Findings]. Research Colloquium. Orient-Institut Istanbul. (with M. Şahinol)

30.08.2017: “Marketization and Technological Change: Turkish Surgeons in A Changing Context”. 13th European Sociological Association (ESA) Conference on (Un)Making Europe: Capitalism, Solidarities, Subjectivities. August 29-September 1, 2017. Athens, Greece. 

05.04.2017: “Cerrahlık Zanaatı, Teknoloji ve Piyasalaşma: İstanbul’da Cerrah Tipolojisi” [Surgical Craft, Technology and Marketization: Typology of Surgeons in Turkey]. VI. Hasan Ünal Nalbantoğlu Sempozyumu: Teknolojiye Dair Sorular. April 5-7, 2017. Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey. (with S. Kalaycıoğlu)

20.05.2016: “Surgeons and Marketization of Health: The Case of Turkey”. 13th European Sociological Association (ESA) Mid-Term Conference of the Research Network on Sociology of Health & Illness (RN16) on New directions in health care work and organizations. May 19-21, 2016. Lisbon, Portugal.

20.05.2016: “A Social Scientist in the Operating Theatre”. 13th European Sociological Association (ESA) Mid-Term Conference of the Research Network on Sociology of Health & Illness (RN16) on New directions in health care work and organizations. May 19-21, 2016. Lisbon, Portugal.

21.04.2016: “Cerrahlık, Zanaat ve Teknoloji: Sosyolojik Bir Bakış” [Surgery, Craft and Technology: A Sociological View]. Educational Meetings 16. Department of Medical Education and Informatics. Medical School, Hacettepe University. Ankara, Turkey. (invited talk)

23.11.2015: “Zanaat Olarak Cerrahlık ve Teknoloji” [Surgery as Craft and Technology]. 14th National Social Sciences Conference [TSBD]. November 23-25, 2015. Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey. 

03.04.2013: “International Diffusion of Neoliberalism and Resistance: The Transformation of Healthcare System in Turkey”. 54th International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention on The Politics of International Diffusion: Regional and Global Dimensions. April 3-6, 2013. San Francisco, California, USA. (with Y. Başkavak)

Book

(with Melike Şahinol & Burak Taşdizen:) Hair:y_less Masculinities . A Cartography. Bonn: Şahinol, Melike (in cooperation with perspectivia.net) 2022 (https://doi.org/10.25360/01-2022-00000).

Guest editor in peer reviewed journals

Türkiye’de Çekişmeli Bedenler: Tıp Teknolojisindeki Gelişmelerle Dönüşen Beden, Sağlık ve Toplum [Contested Bodies in Turkey: Transformation of Body, Health and Society through Techno-Medical Innovations] Special Issue in Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi [Journal of Sociological Research]. 24(1), 2021. (open access: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/sosars/issue/61228) (with M. Şahinol)

Articles

“Contested Daily Routines, Contested Care. Children with Type 1 Diabetes in Covid-19 Times”, Childhood Vulnerability Journal, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41255-021-00017-0 (with M. Şahinol)

“Sosyo-Biyo-Teknik Bakım Kompleksi: Tip 1 Diyabette Dijital Sağlık Takibi” [Socio-Bio-Technical Care Complex: Digital Health Tracking In Type 1 Diabetes]. Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi [Journal of Sociological Research]. (Special Issue: Türkiye’de Çekişmeli Bedenler: Tıp Teknolojisindeki Gelişmelerle Dönüşen Beden, Sağlık ve Toplum [The Contested Bodies in Turkey: Body, Health and Society Transformed by Advances in Medical Technologies]). 24(1), 2021. 110-145. doi: https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.911385 (with M. Şahinol)

“Türkiye’de Çekişmeli Bedenlere Giriş” [Introduction to the Contested Bodies in Turkey]. Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi [Journal of Sociological Research]. (Special Issue: Türkiye’de Çekişmeli Bedenler: Tıp Teknolojisindeki Gelişmelerle Dönüşen Beden, Sağlık ve Toplum [The Contested Bodies in Turkey: Body, Health and Society Transformed by Advances in Medical Technologies]). 24(1), 2021. 1-17. doi: https://doi.org/10.18490/sosars.911385 (with M. Şahinol)

Book Chapters

“Türkiye’de Biyomedikalizasyon: Sağlığın Dijitalleşmesi ve Öz-Takip Pratikleri” [Biomedicalization in Turkey: Digitalization of Health and Self-Tracking Practices]. A. Turanlı, M. Şahinol and A. U. Aydınoğlu (Eds.), Türkiye’de STS: Bilim ve Teknoloji Çalışmalarına Giriş [STS in Turkey: Introduction to Science and Technology Studies]. Istanbul: İTÜ Vakfı Yayınları, 2020. 103-117. (with M. Şahinol) (E-ISBN: 978-975-561-516-5) (Open Access: https://polen.itu.edu.tr/handle/11527/18483).

“Zanaattan Robotiğe: Tıp Teknolojisi ve Türkiye’de Kuşaklararası Cerrah Tipolojisi” [From Craftsmanship to Robotics: Medical Technologies and a Generational Typology of Surgeons in Turkey]. Denizcan Kutlu and Çağrı Kaderoğlu Bulut (Eds.), Sınıfın Suretleri: Emek Süreçleri ve Karşı Hareketler [Representations of Class: Labor Processes and Counter Movements]. Istanbul: NotaBene, 2017. 105–126. (ISBN: 6059679954)

Doğrusoy-Başkavak, G. (2005). “Bilişim Teknolojileri: Getirdikleri ve Götürdükleri” [Information Technologies: Pros and Cons]. Aşkın Keser (Ed.), Çalışma Yaşamında Dönüşümler: Örgütsel Bakış [Transformations in Working Life: Organizational Perspective]. Bursa: Ezgi Publishing, 197–210. (Reprinted by Nobel Publishing in 2005). (ISBN : 9789755918013)

Papers in Proceedings

Başkavak, G. (2013). “International Diffusion of Neoliberalism and Resistance: The Transformation of Healthcare System in Turkey”. 54th International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention on The Politics of International Diffusion: Regional and Global Dimensions Proceedings. April 3-6, 2013. San Francisco, California, USA. (with Y. Başkavak)

Research Reports

“Between Empowerment and Disempowerment: A Qualitative Analysis of (Voluntary) Digital Health (Self-)Tracking in Turkey”. Orient-Institut Istanbul for the German Federal Ministry of Health. Istanbul, 2020. (with M. Şahinol)

“Sağlık Sektöründe Özelleşme ve Metalaşmanın Uzmanlık Üzerindeki Etkileri: İstanbul’daki Uzman Doktorlar Üzerine Bir Çalışma” [Privatization and Commodification in the Health Sector and their Effects on Professionalism: A Study on Medical Profession in Istanbul]. BAP-07-03-2009-00-03. METU. Ankara, 2013. (with S. Kalaycıoğlu)     

“Türkiye’de Toplumsal Yapı ve Din” [The Social Structure and Religion in Turkey]. TUBITAK 108K202. Istanbul, 2011. (with B. Akşit, R. Şentürk, K. Cengiz, Ö. Küçükural, G. Yavuz, Z. Benli, S. Gülen, P. Güran, N. Taşkın, Z. Arıkan)     

“Kentsel Suçlar için Mekansal Analiz Yöntemlerine Dayalı Suç Tahmini Modellerinin ve Suç Önleme Politikalarının Geliştirilmesi” [Development of Urban Crime Prediction Models and Crime Reduction Policies Based on Spatial Analyses]. State Planning Department-07-02-DPT.2003(06)K120920-21. Ankara, 2008. (with Kalaycıoğlu, K. Mutlu, G. Demir, İ. Boyacıoğlu, E. Polat, M. Kalaycıoğlu)

Blog Contributions

(with Melike Şahinol): “Covid-19 Sürecinde Tip 1 Diyabetli ve Sürekli Glikoz İzleme Teknolojisi Kullanan Çocuklar [Children with Type 1 Diabetes and Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technology during the Covid-19]”. Orient-Institut Istanbul, Newsletter. Autumn 2020 (pp. 18-19). https://www.oiist.org/tr/newsletter/

“İnsan, Tıp ve Toplum alanındaki ‘E-sağlık: Türkiye’de Öz-Takip Cihazlarının Pratikleri ve Sosyo-Kültürel Boyutları’ başlıklı proje tamamlandı”. Orient-Institut Istanbul Blog. 30.04.2020. https://www.oiist.org/insan-tip-ve-toplum-alanindaki-e-saglik-tuerkiyede-oez-takip-cihazlarinin-pratikleri-ve-sosyo-kueltuerel-boyutlari-baslikli-proje-tamamlandi/ (with M. Şahinol)

“When you start working on a topic, you feel like swimming in an ocean, and without a boat” – An interview with Gülşah Başkavak”. Orient-Institut Istanbul Blog. 15.05.2020. https://www.oiist.org/when-you-start-working-on-a-topic-you-feel-like-swimming-in-an-ocean-and-without-a-boat-an-interview-with-guelsah-baskavak/

“When you start working on a topic, you feel like swimming in an ocean, and without a boat” – 5in10 with Gülşah Başkavak”, in: TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research. 22.10.2019. https://trafo.hypotheses.org/19828