This profile was current as of 2023, when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.
Ayşe received her M.A. in Prehistoric Archaeology from Koç University in İstanbul, Turkey (2017), and her B.A. in Anthropology and Classics from McGill University in Montréal, Canada (2013). Her master’s thesis focused on identifying the material of blue beads recovered from Barcın Höyük, a Neolithic settlement in Turkey, as well as exploring their social significance and the possibility of imitation. Her B.A. Honours thesis looked into the historical archaeology of Ottoman remains.
Ayşe's current research at Notre Dame concentrates on the integration of female Syrian refugees with an ethnographic focus on Istanbul, through the handcrafts that are produced by them and are sold by various organizations to Turkish and international customers. By looking at different actors' interactions with and attitudes towards these products, she investigates the narratives of female economic empowerment and integration that surround the products in the online and offline arenas where they are sold. Through exploring these narratives, she considers the feasibility and efficacy of the products and organizations to supply refugees with jobs, to better local perception of refugees and, the plausibility of marketing ideas of inclusion and acceptance.
Her broader interests include the Neolithic archaeology of Turkey and the Near East, the use of internet and social media in outreach and public archaeology/anthropology projects -especially with the co-founded website Arkeofili.com in Turkish-, and language ideologies in Turkey. Prior to her doctoral studies, she served as a Collection Supervisor at Pera Museum in İstanbul, Turkey.