We Talked with Ayten Bengisu Cansever about Academic Career and Emerging Scholar Award!
We conducted an enjoyable interview with Ayten Bengisu Cansever, a research assistant at Istanbul Gelişim University (IGU), Faculty of Fine Arts (GSF), Department of Communication and Design, who won the Emerging Scholar Award at the Eighth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies, hosted by Commonground and organized by the Complutense University of Madrid, held on September 6-8, 2023. We discussed her academic career and the award she received.
1. First of all, hello, sir. Could you introduce yourself? How did you become inclined toward academia?
Hello. First of all, thank you for giving me this opportunity for an interview. Academia has always been a field that I wanted to be a part of throughout my educational journey, and it's an area where I wanted to continue my career. It's a field that I am wholeheartedly passionate about. Being an academic can be defined as a career that involves reading, writing, thinking, and continuously learning, and it's a career that can be pursued and enjoyed only by those who find pleasure in doing so. In that sense, it's truly a "crazy" job because there is no limit to learning and knowledge. However, I believe that only those who truly dedicate themselves can fulfill this profession properly.
But of course, in this part, I would like to share with you my journey from free research to entering the "epistemic community" of academia. First, let me briefly introduce myself. I completed my undergraduate education as the top student in the Department of Public Relations and Advertising at Marmara University's Faculty of Communication in 2019. At the same time, through the double major program at the same university, I graduated with honors from the Department of Sociology (English) at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 2021, I graduated from the thesis-based master's program in the Interpersonal Communication Science Branch of the Department of Public Relations and Advertising at Marmara University's Institute of Social Sciences, defending my thesis titled "Biopolitical Discourse and Narrative in Digital Games: The Example of The Sims 4." Currently, I am pursuing my postgraduate education in the Ph.D. program in the Department of Public Relations and Advertising at Istanbul University's Institute of Social Sciences. I am currently in the thesis stage. I can generally describe my academic research areas as communication sociology, communication psychology, new media, and communication studies. Since 2021, I have been working as a research assistant at Istanbul Gelişim University's Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Communication and Design. I am still continuously striving to develop myself without standing still. As of February 2023, I have obtained the title of Family Counselor, and I am trying to find new areas that will contribute to my academic work.
2. You have numerous articles, book chapters, and conference papers in national and international fields. What is your motivation for your work, and what advice do you have for young people in this regard?
As I mentioned from the beginning, my main motivation is being passionately committed to my work. I even wrote about it in the preface of my master's thesis. Weber's quote has always inspired me: "Nothing is worth pursuing if it is not pursued with passionate devotion." Learning new things, knowing, and conducting research are among the most enjoyable things in my life. The professor I had during my undergraduate and master's studies, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hediyetullah Aydeniz always motivated me in this regard. In every class, Mr. Aydeniz used to say to me, "An academician should have a concern about the world, and this concern should become a problem that he/she is curious about. Find yourself a concern and go to the field." These words have been influential in my concern for the problems related to the world and humanity and in channeling my curiosity to research them. Indeed, being an academic is not a career for those who do not have a cause or lack curiosity. Therefore, even in my daily life, when I go out on the streets, I always seek new concerns and try to address them within the context of my academic interests. I constantly ask myself "Why?" I aim to approach the social aspect of that concern from a different perspective rather than a deterministic point of view. My publications generally emerge based on this line of thinking.
For young people who want to advance in academia, besides meeting the minimum requirements of ALES (Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Exam) and YÖKDİL (Foreign Language Exam for Academic Purposes), I can say that they need to find a cause. Like my mentor once told me, they should find a cause for themselves. I know from my close circle that those pursuing a master's or doctoral degree often complain about writing theses and conducting research. The main reason, personally, is that the majority who embark on this endeavor cannot find a cause that both bothers them and brings them joy in tackling it. Those without a cause may have a slightly weaker interest in academia. I wish all academicians who have a cause they are interested in, curious about, and will one day find the answer to, as well as those in the process of embracing that cause, all the best throughout their lives.
3. Could you tell us about the Emerging Scholar Award you received, which was announced in recent months?
Certainly. I was honored with the Emerging Scholar Award at the Eighth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies, organized by Commonground Scholar and hosted by the Complutense University of Madrid this year. After applying with my CV and academic work last year, I received this award as a result of a lengthy review process. Emerging Scholar is known as an award given to a limited number of active academicians who are continuing their postgraduate studies and are in the early stages of their academic careers, based on the evaluation of their CVs. It is a globally recognized award, and I will be receiving it from Turkey at the Eighth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies, which will be held at the Complutense University of Madrid this year. Along with this award, I also have some responsibilities. For example, I will be chairing a session at the conference. In addition, under the special theme of the conference, "Who Can We Trust? Ethics and Responsibilities in AI in Digital Communication Systems," I will be presenting a paper titled "AI-Based Mobile Applications as a Power Technique in the Time of COVID-19: The Case of 'Hayat Eve Sığar'." My work focuses on "Foucault studies, biopower, neoliberal governance, and communication technologies." In short, the point I have embraced as my cause revolves around these concepts. It is possible to see traces of this in the paper I will be presenting at this conference. I plan to discuss mobile artificial intelligence applications that have become part of daily life during the COVID-19 period and encompass daily life in all aspects as a new technique of power, using the example of "Hayat Eve Sığar" in Turkey. Finally, I am very happy to have been honored with the "Emerging Scholar" award given to young academicians at the Eighth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies, which will be held this year. I can say that the Emerging Scholar Award has turned this conference into a more exciting and enriching experience for me.
We extend our thanks to Research Assistant Ayten Bengisu Cansever
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