Hülya Arik

My research explores the tensions between religion, secularism, and security, with a focus on political Islam, Islamophobia, and Muslim cultural politics. Central to my work are the frameworks of feminist geography, geopolitics, and transnational feminism. While much of my research has focused on Turkey, I also draw on cases from the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

Currently, I am publishing findings from my research on the cultural geographies of secularism and Islam in Turkey, specifically examining Islamic and traditional visual arts in Istanbul from the 1990s onward. This study seeks to unravel the cultural politics of Islamism and its intersections with neoliberalism and Turkish/Islamic cultural heritage, particularly as reflected in an emerging art scene shaped predominantly by young, pious women artists. Key themes in this project include feminist geopolitics, urban and cultural geographies of Islam, and critical approaches to cultural and creative industries in non-European contexts.

For my next research project, I am currently welcoming graduate students interested in exploring topics related to the cultural and creative geographies of Islam and Muslims, particularly within the field of visual arts, though not limited to it. If you are interested in discussing the possibility of working with me, please email me directly.

Publications 

• 2024 Arik, H. “Toward decolonizing Muslim geographic epistemologies”, Dialogues in Human Geography, 0(0) 
• 2023 Arik, H. “Creative geographies of Islam: the case of Islamic and traditional visual arts scene in Istanbul” Cultural Geographies, 30 (3), p: 339-353
• 2022 Arik, H., Cagatay, S., Liinason, M., Sasunkievich, O. “Unsettling political: Conceptualizing the political in feminist and LGBTI activism and arts beyond nation-bound and state-centric frameworks” International Feminist Journal of Politics, 25 (4), p: 687-710
• 2021 Arik, H. “Emotional and Corporeal Formations of Secularism: A Case Study of Military Bases in Turkey, 1980s-2000s” Social & Cultural Geography. 22 (1), 97-118
• 2018 Arik, H. “Secular risk governance and the Turkish military’s battle with political Islam, 1980s-2000s”. Security Dialogue, 49 (4): 306–323.
• 2016 Arik, H. “Security, secularism and gender: the Turkish military's security discourse in relation to political Islam”, Gender, Place & Culture, 23 (5): 641-658.