We Welcomed Our Alumna Dr. Cansu Sönmez Back to the Department

On Monday, October 13, 2025, we had the pleasure of welcoming one of our first graduates, Dr. Cansu Sönmez, to our department as part of an event organized by the IEU Sociology Club. We would like to thank her for this inspiring talk and hope to host her again in the near future.

The event, which attracted great interest from sociology and psychology students, featured Dr. Sönmez’s talk titled “Not to Think Less, but to Feel More.” Drawing on the Latin American Indigenous concept of “sentipensar” (to feel-think), she emphasized that knowledge should be sought not only in the mind, but also in the body, emotions, and relationships.

The seminar also opened discussions on affective geographies, anti-colonial thought, atmosphere, body–land–space relations, and the emotional dimensions of academic life. Dr. Sönmez highlighted that conducting research in the social sciences is, at the same time, a particular way of feeling.