Zeynep Kiliç, PhD
Dr. Kiliç was born and raised in Turkey. After completing her bachelors degree in economics, she moved to the U.S. to pursue graduate school. She completed her masters and doctorate degrees at Arizona State University in sociology. During her tenure at UAA she received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in University Diversity in 2013, an award given to individuals who are making significant and positive differences in enhancing diversity on campus by increasing visibility, representing diverse voices, advocating, showing program initiative, and creating a sense of community as a public square. In 2019, she received the UAA Professor of the Year (Influence in Education) Award, by the National Society of Leadership and Success' UAA Chapter. She has served as the Secretary of the Association for the Study of Food and Society between 2018 and 2022.
A Fulbright U.S. scholar grant and a sabbatical grant from the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) took her to Turkey in 2015-2016 to complete her documentary “Tables of Istanbul” on food, identity and culture in Istanbul, Turkey. After its premiere in April 2016, Tables of Istanbul has been screened at 13 film festivals in 10 countries. It has received 9 awards and recognition, and was broadcast by Michigan's PBS station (WKAR). She is 'supposedly' working on her book "Geography of Food in Istanbul: Whose Cuisine Is It Anyway?" Her after-UAA life will be spent in the kitchen, making food rather than researching it.
Website: http://www.tablesofistanbul.com
