Ahmet Kerim Gültekin is an exiled ethnologist (PhD) in Germany. He was an assistant professor at the Sociology Department of Munzur University (Dersim, Turkey). However, he was dismissed via a decree-law in 2017 issued by the government without any juridical process because of signing the declaration entitled “We will not be a party to this crime”, protesting the government’s militarist oppressions in Kurdish cities in 2016. Moreover, he was sentenced to imprisonment due to his academic studies regarding ethnic and religious minorities of Turkey.

Gültekin received his doctorate in Ethnology from Ankara University (2013), where he also did his MA (2007) in the Department of Social Anthropology and Ethnology. His areas of interest are mainly related to Kurdish Alevism Studies (especially Dersim Studies), Alevism Studies, anthropology of religion, politic anthropology, sacred places, nature and culture, new animism, pilgrimage studies, and ethnography (new methodological approaches on oral history and collective memory).

His publications focus mainly on the case of Kurdish Alevism. He has published many articles and book chapters. He is the author of the books “Tunceli’de Kutsal Mekân Kültü” (Sacred Place Cults in Tunceli) 2004, “Tunceli’ de Sünni Olmak” (Being Sunni at Tunceli) 2010, Kutsal Mekanın Yeniden Üretimi (Reproduction of Sacred Place) 2020, and both co-editor and chapter writer of “Kurdish Alevis and the Case of Dersim” 2019 and “Ethno-Cultural Others of Turkey: Contemporary Reflections” 2021.

 

Previous Positions

2021 - 2023 Einstein Guest Researcher
(Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Free University Berlin)

2018 – 2021 Senior Researcher
(Phillip Schwartz Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) The Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences/ DFG Kolleg-Forschergruppe “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities”, Leipzig University, Germany

2018    Researcher
Post-doctoral stay (Leibniz Program, Leipzig University) The Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Leipzig University, Germany

2014 - 2017 Assistant Professor
Sociology Department, Faculty of Literature, Munzur University, Turkey

2015 - 2016 Scientific Project Manager
Project Title: “Dersim’de Aleviliğin Yeniden Kurgulanışında Kutsal Mekân Kültleri” (Sacred Places of Dersim in the Process of Reinvention of Dersim Alevism) Sociology Department, Faculty of Literature, Munzur University, Turkey

2013 - 2014    Visiting Scholar
Sociology Department, Faculty of Literature, Munzur University, Turkey

Teaching Activities

MA Courses

2020 - 2021 Co-Lecturer
Religious Studies 03-003-6030 und 03-003-7014 / The Alevis of Dersim: Religion, History, Politics/ Religionwissenschaftliches Institut / Leipzig University / Germany

2015 - 2017    Lecturer    
SOS 510 / Türkiye’de Etnografi Çalışmaları (Ethnographic Studies in Turkey) / Institute of Social Sciences, Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 517 Din Etnolojisi (Ethnology of Religion) at the Institute of Social Sciences, Munzur University / Turkey

BA Courses

2014 - 2017   ANT 101 / Antropolojiye Giriş (Introduction to Anthropology) / Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 106 / Sosyal Antropoloji (Social Anthropology) / Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 211 Din Antropolojisi (Anthropology of Religion) / Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 312 Nitel Araştırma Teknikleri (Qualitative Research Methods/ Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 312 Uygarlık Tarihi (History of Civilisation) / Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

SOS 313 Kültür ve Toplum (Culture and Society) / Department of Sociology / Munzur University / Turkey

2013    HLK Karşılaştırmalı Toplum ve Kültür İncelemeleri (Comparative Studies of Society and Culture) / Department of Ethnology / Ankara University, Turkey

PUBLICATIONS (In English)

Working Paper

2019               
“Kurdish Alevism: Creating New Ways of Practicing the Religion.” Working Paper Series of the HCAS “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” 18. Leipzig University, 2019.

Book Chapters

(Accepted/Forthcoming) “Thinking of Alevis as ‘Majority’: Alevi and Sunni Communities of Dersim”, in Alevi Identity Revisited - Cultural, Religious, Social and Political Perspectives. (The book contains various studies about Alevis in Turkey. Edinburgh University will publish.)

2021              
“Dersim as a Sacred Land - Contemporary Kurdish Alevi Ethno-Politics and Environmental Struggle”, in Ecological Solidarity and the Kurdish Freedom Movement Thought, Practice, Challenges, and Opportunities, pp 225-243, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2021.

2021              
“Kurdish Alevis: A Peculiar Cultural Identity at the Crossroad of Multiple Ethno-Politics”, in The Ethno-Cultural Others of Turkey – Contemporary Reflections, pp 39-71, Yerevan: Russian-Armenian University Press, 2021.

2019               
“Şavak, A Tribe Among Ethno-Cultural Boundaries of Dersim”, in Kurdish Alevis and the Case of Dersim Historical and Contemporary Insights, pp: 99-115, New York: Lexington Books, 2019.

2016              
“Counter-Publics and Local Practices: The Struggle for Revolutionary Local Government”, in The Road to Gezi – Resistance and Counter-Publics in 21st Century Turkey. pp: 175-191, Ottawa: Red Quill Books, 2016.

Editorship

2021               
The Ethno-Cultural Others of Turkey – Contemporary Reflections. (Ed. Ahmet Kerim Gültekin & Çakır Ceyhan Süvari) Yerevan: Russian-Armenian University Press.

2019               
Kurdish Alevis and the Case of Dersim Historical and Contemporary Insights. (ed. Erdal Gezik & Ahmet Kerim Gültekin) New York: Lexington Books, 2019.

 

PUBLICATIONS (In Turkish)

Books

2020               
(Funded by BMBF - Germany) Kutsal Mekanın Yeniden Üretimi - Kemeré Duzgı’dan Düzgün Baba’ya Dersim Aleviliğinde Müzakereler ve Kültür Örüntüleri (The Reproduction of Sacred Place – from Kemeré Duzgı to Düzgün Baba, the Cultural Patterns and the Negotiations in Kurdish Alevism). İstanbul: Bilim ve Gelecek Yayınları, 2020.

2010              
Tunceli’de Sünni Olmak – Tunceli Pertek’te Ulusal ve Yerel Kimlik Öğelerinin Etnolojik Tetkiki (Being Sunni in Tunceli - An Ethnological Investigation of National and Local Identity Constituents of Sunni Minority in Tunceli/Pertek). Istanbul: Berfin Yayınları, 2010.

2004               
Tunceli’de Kutsal Mekân Kültü (The Cult of Holy-Sites in Tunceli). Ankara: Kalan Yayınları, 2004.

Book Chapters

2020               
“Dersim Aleviliği” (Dersim Alevism), in Antropoloji Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Anthropology), pp: 282-91, İstanbul: Islık Yayınları, 2020.

2020               
“Kırsal Dönüşüm” (Rural Transformation), in Antropoloji Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Anthropology), pp: 613-18, İstanbul: Islık Yayınları, 2020.

2020              
“Ortodoksi ve Heterodoksi” (Orthodxy and Heterodoxy), in Antropoloji Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Anthropology), pp: 823-26, İstanbul: Islık Yayınları, 2020.

2020               
“Senkretizm” (Syncretism), in Antropoloji Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Anthropology), pp: 942-45, İstanbul: Islık Yayınları, 2020.

2019              
“Dersimli Alevilerde Khal Gağan Ritüelleri” (Khal Gağan Rituals of Alevis of Dersim), in Dersim – Üç Dağ İçinde (Dersim – is in Three Mountains), pp: 195-221, Ankara: NotaBene Yayınları, 2019.

2016              
“Kürt Dağlarından Bir Baraj Öyküsü: Pervari HES” (Story of a Dam Project from Kurdish Mountains: Pervari Hydroelectric Plant Project), in Sudan Sebepler – Türkiye’de Neo-Liberal Su-Enerji Politikaları ve Direnişler (Politics and Resistances to the Neo-Liberal Water and Energy Policies in Turkey), pp: 223 – 247, Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2016.

2016              
“Çoğunluğun Azınlığında Bir Antropoloğun Yabancılık Deneyimleri” (Experiences of Strangeness of an Anthropologist in a Community of Minority), in Etnografik Hikâyeler – Türkiye’de Alan Araştırması (Ethnographic Stories: Fieldwork in Turkey), pp: 118 – 137, Istanbul: Metis Yayınları, 2016.

2012               
Gültekin, Ahmet Kerim ve Sibel Özbudun. (2012). Kültür-Kimlik Politikaları Atölyesi (A Workshop on Politics of Culture and Identity), in Devrimci Halkçı Yerel Yönetimler Atölye Sonuç Metinleri (Concluding Articles of the Revolutionary Local Governments Workshop) pp: 94 – 108, Ankara: TMMOB, 2012.

Editorship

2013               
Devrimci-Halkçı Yerel Yönetimler: Umut ve Mücadele Mekânlarından Deneyimler (Revolutionary-Populist Local Governments: Experiences from the Spaces of Hope and Struggle), (ed. Ahmet Kerim Gültekin & İbrahim Gündoğdu) Istanbul: PatikaKitap, 2013.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

2016              
“Cemevi mi Ziyaret (Jiar) mi? Dersim’de Mekânın “Kutsal” Halleri” (Cemevi or Holy-Sites? Divine Forms of Space in Dersim Alevism), Alevilik Araştırmaları Dergisi - Journal of Alevi Studies, pp: 45-72, 11: 2016.

2015               
“Tarihselci ve Yorumsamacı Yaklaşım Işığında “Sultan/Üryan Hıdır/Hızır” Söylencesi Üzerine Düşünceler” (Historical and Hermeneutic Approaches to the Sultan/Üryan Hıdır/Hızır Legend), Tunceli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (Social Sciences Journal of Tunceli University), pp: 7-20, 4/7: 2015.

2015               
“Marksizm ve Antropoloji: Eleştirileri ve Güncel Bağlamı Yeniden Düşünmek” (Marxism and Anthropology: Rethinking the Critics of Marxism in Today’s Anthropological Context), Tunceli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (Social Sciences Journal of Tunceli University), pp: 36-53, 1/6: 2015.

2015               
“Cumhuriyetin Kuruluş Dönemi Açısından Antropoloji ve Irkçılık Tartışmaları Hakkında Görüşler” (Remarks on the Debates on Anthropology and Racism During the Early Republican Period), Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi (Ankara University Journal of Languages and History-Geography), pp: 91-111, 55/1: 2015.

2013               
“Safii Kürt Topluluklarda Kutsal Mekân İnanmalarına Dair Güncel Bir Bakış: Beğendik/Bêdar Örneği (Siirt - Pervari)” (A Brief Contemporary Overview of Beliefs on Sanctuaries in Shafii Kurdish Communities: The Case of “Beğendik/Bêdar-Bêdar” (Siirt-Pervari)), Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi (Ankara University Journal of Languages and History-Geography), pp: 267-303, 53/1: 2013.

2013               
“Kültürel Kimliklerin Çeşitliliği Bağlamında Özgün Bir Örnek: Şavak Aşireti” (Savak Tribe: An Example of Diversity of Cultural Identities), Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih Coğrafya Fakültesi Antropoloji Dergisi (Ankara University Journal of Languages and History-Geography), pp: 129-156, 26: 2013.

2013               
“Kürt Topluluklarda Aşiret Tipi Toplumsal Örgütlenme Yapılarında Değişme Dinamiklerine Güncel Bir Bakış: Beğendik-Bedar Örneği (Siirt-Pervari)” (A Brief Overview of Tribal Organizations, Structures of Social Organization and Change in Kurdish Communities: The Case of “Beğendik-Bêdar” (Siirt-Pervari)), Praksis, pp: 87 – 107, 29: 2013.

2006               
““Şah Delil Berhican” Tunceli (Dersim) Aleviliğinin Eksik Parçaları Üzerine Kısa Notlar” (‘Shah Delil Berhican’: Notes on “Missing” Parts of Tunceli (Dersim) Alawism), Kırkbudak – Anadolu Halk İnançları Araştırmaları Dergisi, pp: 87-108, 7: 2006

2005                “Fakirlikten Sultanlığa: Anadolu İslam Heterodoksisinin Gelişim Sürecinde Bir Geçiş Dönemi Söylencesi” (From Poverty to Sultanate: A Transitional Period Legend of the Development Process of Anatolian Islamic Heterodoxy), Kırkbudak – Anadolu Halk İnançları Araştırmaları Dergisi, pp: 67-79, 2: 2005.

2005              
“Beyşehir Gölü Havzası’ndan Tunceli Dağları’na İnsan Toplumsallığının İzdüşümü Olarak Söylenceler Üzerine Bir Deneme” (An Essay on Legends As Projections of Human Collectivism From Beysehir Lake Region to the Mountains of Tunceli), Kırkbudak – Anadolu Halk İnançları Araştırmaları Dergisi, pp: 75-89, 1: 2005.