Deniz Cosan Eke, MA

Start: Winter Semester 2011

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Sökefeld

Project Details:

"The Changing Leadership Role of Dedes in Alevi Movement from the 1990s to the Present"

The subject of this thesis is the changing leadership role of Dedes in Alevi movement to create a new viewpoint to the definition of Alevi identity from the 1990s to the present.  Alevism is a heterodox belief system in the broad field of Islam and the Alevi are a religious and cultural community, settled mainly in Turkey. Dede can be generally defined as a spiritual leader in Alevism and also as a leader in solving problems of social life among the Alevi society. In this PhD project, it is aimed to examine the political, cultural and religious debates about Dedes who are a very important institution concerning the analysis of the Alevi identity both in Turkey and in Germany. The culture and the belief system of Alevi community are not recognized in Turkey, so they have a variety of problems in terms of protecting their identity. As a consequence of the labour-recruitment treaties after 1961, an Alevi diaspora emerged in Germany. The immigrant Alevi community in Germany have some differences from its Turkish counterpart in terms of political and social rights, the policies about cultural diversity and the form of Alevi organizations. Therefore, the changing role of Dedes will be formulated in the discussion of identity, diaspora and social movement concepts within the context of the Turkish state, the Alevi community in Turkey and the immigrant Alevi community in Germany. By exploring the transnational connections between Alevis and comparing the differences with regard to the Dedes institution between Germany and Turkey, this research will offer an interdisciplinary and multi-focal discussion about the recognition process of Alevism.

Education

• 2003-2007: Ankara University (AU), Ankara- Turkey, the Department of International Relations, Master Dissertation Title: The Vision of European Union in Europe – Avrupa’nın Avrupa Birliği Vizyonu (in Turkish)
• Aug 2005-Jan 2006: Erasmus Program in Roskilde University (RUC)/Denmark.
• 2003-2006 Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara – Turkey, the Department of Sociology, Master, Dissertation Title: The Changing Perceptions of Gender Roles among Two Cohorts of Women: A Case Study in Ankara (in English)
• Aug-Sep 2000: Exchange program in European Humanities University(EHU)/ Belarus.
• 1996-2002 Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara – Turkey, the Department of Sociology, Bachelor

Publications

• Eke-Coşan, Deniz, 2009, The Changing Perceptions of Gender Roles among Two Cohorts of Women: A Case Study in Ankara,VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft& Co.KG, Saarbrücken, Germany.