Academic Staff

My academic training spans philosophy and economics (Trent University, Canada) and culminated in a Ph.D. in philosophy from Emory University (USA). My research lies at the intersection of philosophy, media, and politics, and I bring a strong foundation in 20th- and 21st-century continental thought—especially the work of Foucault, Habermas, Adorno, and Wittgenstein.

What ties my work together is a core concern with how language, discourse, and power shape experience and recognition in contemporary society. I have published in journals such as Journal of the Philosophy of History, Continental Philosophy Review, Philosophy Today, International Journal of Communication, and Extrapolation. My recent book, Felsefi Meseleler, introduces fundamental philosophical problems—ethics, metaphysics, scientific rationality, the tragic—through a style that is both rigorous and accessible.

A particular focus of my work involves the diagnosis of how knowledge claims are produced and disseminated in new media, creating orders and disorders of truth, recognition, and misrecognition.

Gökçen Karanfil joined the Faculty of Communication at IUE in 2007. Since then he has thought a variety of courses in the Media and Communication Department both in undergarduate and graduate levels. He has also been the Vice Dean of the faculty between 2009 and 2012, and the Chair of the <media and Communication department between the years 2012-2017. Gökçen's research interests include theories of globalisation, theories of nationalism, transnational media flows and media sociology.

Altug Akin is an associate professor doctor at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. His research focus is mainly about the relationship between communication and social/behaviour change: How do we better understand and use communication for a better social and personal life? Altug Akin completed his doctoral studies in audio-visual communication at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain; and masters’ studies in journalism studies at the Stockholm University, Sweden. Mr. Akin was a visiting scholar at Annenberg School for Communication of UPENN, between 2015 and 2016. Parallel to his academic career, Altug Akin has been contributing to several media outlets, including the BBC World Service Turkish Section, where he worked as a journalist. Most recently, he established and lead the unit of Communication for Development and Social Change at UNICEF Turkey. He currently chairs the Department of New Media and Communication at Izmir University of Economic and support WHO Euro as a Risk Communication and Community Engagement expert. Dr. Akin has literature translations from Spanish and English to Turkish.

Graduated from Ege University, Izmir, in 2006. After completing his MA thesis titled "High Definition Broadcasting Systems as a New Communication Technology and the Practical Audiovisual Data Transferring", he grew interest in 3D cinema and its corresponding technologies. In 2020, Gedik earned a doctorate degree upon completing his PhD dissertation titled "Narrative Structure in 3D Fiction Film. From the early undergraduate years, Alper Gedik carried out various production and post-production tasks for a wide variety of projects including short films, documentaries, animated films and promotional films.

Tuncel has joined the IEU Faculty of Communication in 2009 and teaches broadcasting, journalism and media industry related courses. Previously he has been a member of the staff at Ankara University and a research fellow at the European Institute for the Media. Following the establishment of Faculty of Comm Studios, he has been appointed as the Studios Coordinator. Tuncel's academic interests are media policy and media industries.

Undergraduate, Faculty of Communication, Ankara University (1990); MSc in Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1999); PhD in Politics, Middle East Technical University (2009). She teaches Theories of Communication, Research Methods in Media, Turkish Media History and History of Communication at the Communication Faculty, Izmir University of Economics since 2005.

Burak Doğu received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ankara University. He earned his master’s degree in Journalism from Ege University, where he studied computer games and ludology, based on new media theories. He completed his Ph.D. at Ege University, focusing on alternative media's coverage and framing of the TEKEL workers protest. He visited University of Turin and University of Eastern Piedmont as a part of his doctoral research. He was a research fellow at the New York University, Department of Sociology, in 2016-17. He is currently working as a professor at the Izmir University of Economics, Department of New Media and Communication, where he teaches digital media theories, along with studio and portfolio courses. His research interests include alternative media, framing, environmental communication, social movements, and networking.