About

I hold a BA in Visual Arts and Visual Communication DesignLink opens in a new window from Sabanci University (2005) and an MA in Film and TV Link opens in a new windowfrom Istanbul Bilgi University (2012), where I obtained a PhD in CommunicationLink opens in a new window (2016). I completed my second MA in Journalism and Documentary PracticeLink opens in a new window at the University of Sussex (2019) under a fully funded Chevening ScholarshipLink opens in a new window. Currently, I am pursuing a practice-based PhD with a Warwick Collaborative Fellowship.

Research interests

autoethnography, documentary, creative-relational inquiry, experimental cinema, gender studies, mad studies, participatory action research, research ethics, transformative justice

Current research

I co-create films with citizens who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar, or psychosis in order to tell their stories from their point of view. The project aims to acknowledge and propagate participants’ agency, authorship, and ownership. It asks: How can mainstream cinema’s production of knowledge of 'mental illness' be rewritten through first-person narratives? What are the challenges involved in capturing survivors’ stories on film? How can power, decision-making and responsibility be shared in co-production? How can participants be encouraged to explore different types of storytelling to find the most appropriate mode to express their experience? By prioritising ethical, experimental, and participatory modes of filmmaking, this project seeks to stimulate conversations, exchange feedback, and ‘be with’ survivors as well as explore the film's potential.

Publications

• Journal article

‘Navigating the liminal space: Enhancing film teaching through anonymous feedback, digital collages, and advocacy,’ Journal of PGR Pedagogic Practice, 4 (2024): 77-95. https://doi.org/10.31273/jppp.vol4.2024

• Books

Documentary as Autoethnography: A Case Study Based on the Changing Surnames of WomenLink opens in a new window,
Vernon Press, USA, 2020 [peer-reviewed, hardback, e-book, paperback].

Tunceli'ye Gittim Dersim'den DöndümLink opens in a new window, Ka Kitap, İstanbul, 2016.

Ne Zaman Bosanacaksin da Evlenecegiz?Link opens in a new window, Ka Kitap, İstanbul, 2015.

• Book chapters

'Yaratıcılık ve Antropoloji Ekseninde Eşiktelik Kavramına BakışLink opens in a new window,' (A Perspective on the Concept of Liminality in the Axis of Creativity and Anthropology) Onun Kitabını Anlatıyorum (Editor: Professor Serpil Aygün Cengiz) Ürün Yayınları, pp. 383-399, İstanbul, 2021.

'Mrs Private PropertyLink opens in a new window,' In All Equally Real: Femininities and Masculinities Today, pp. 145-157. Boston: Brill, 2019 & Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2014.

• Online/public engagement

As a columnistLink opens in a new window for T24 since 2014, I have developed an in-depth understanding of issues affecting women, LGBTIQA+, and children, human rights, gender equality, and 'minority' issues, with more than 200 articles. Since 2018, I have written about live concerts and gigs for Jazz DergisiLink opens in a new window, including posts on Sheila Jordan, Michael Pipoquinha, Benjamin Clementine, and Avishai Cohen.

Teaching

I am honoured to be a recipient of the Warwick Awards for Teaching ExcellenceLink opens in a new window in the Postgraduate who Teach category in 2024. You can view my statement hereLink opens in a new window. I led seminars on the first year-core module Visual CulturesLink opens in a new window (FI 109) in the Autumn term (2023/24); I assisted Dr James TaylorLink opens in a new window with this module. I am enrolled in the Academic and Professional Pathway for Postgraduate Research StudentsLink opens in a new window (2023/24) teaching training programme (APP PGR), an accredited pathway leading to Associate Fellowship, HEA. I worked as a Researcher Development Guest Tutor at Warwick Education/Doctoral College's Researcher Development ProgrammeLink opens in a new window. My role was to design and conduct 90-minute workshops entitled 'Autoethnography: Researcher as Researched SubjectLink opens in a new window' (21 March 2023) and 'Participant Observation and Participatory ResearchLink opens in a new window' (15 March 2023) for PhD students. I have six years of BA & MA level teaching experience in modules including but not limited to Independent Film, Documentary-in-Progress, Civic Involvement Design Projects, and Experimental Art in İstanbul. I was a visiting scholar in 2017 at ESCS School of Communication and Media Studies,Link opens in a new window Lisbon, with the ERASMUS project.

Conference papers & academic seminars

‘Trust and transparency in research/film: Exploring the interplay between funders’ expectations and researchers’ commitments’ Wild Research SymposiumLink opens in a new window, The Revelator Wall of Death in conjunction with Journal of Media Practice & Education, University of Glasgow, School of Culture and Creative Arts and Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, 13-14 September 2024.

'Institutional regimes and collaborative filmmaking: Negotiating power and representation,' Emergencies: Media in an Unpredictable World, The NECS ConferenceLink opens in a new window, European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, İzmir, Türkiye, 27-29 June 2024.

'Beyond the final cut: Assessing the impact of experimental versus industrial films on mental health narratives,' The Current Underground: Art and Activism in Alternative SpacesLink opens in a new window Conference, Association for Art History, University of Nottingham, 12-13 June 2024.

'Resisting damaging representations: Mental health, social advocacy, and the moving image,' Participatory Action Research, 20th International Congress of Qualitative InquiryLink opens in a new window, University of Illinois, [Online], 29-31 May 2024.

'"Line of fault": Mental health institutions as filmmakers,' FTV Annual Departmental Research Day, University of Warwick, UK, 15 May 2024.

‘Documenting madness: Institutions, individuals, and ethical considerations,' Labour and Screen Media,Link opens in a new window11th Annual BAFTSS Conference, University of Sussex, UK, 3-5 April 2024 (My research poster was shortlisted for display both online and in-person at this year's conference, and received an Honorable MentionLink opens in a new window award).

‘Mrs his name,' Feminist Research Methodologies and Digital Feminist Research, The Gender and Sexualities Institute at the New School for Social ResearchLink opens in a new window, The New School, [Online], New York, 14 December 2023.

‘The clash of embodied knowledge with the spaces of politics,’ Feminist pedagogy of/beyond borders: Affects, emotions, moods in pedagogies and demarcationLink opens in a new window, ATGENDER Conference, Kadir Has University, İstanbul, 4-6 September 2023.

‘Research as film: Searching self in the ethno and re-thinking ethno in the self,’ HRC Colloquium 2023, Biographical Turns across the Arts, Humanities, and Social SciencesLink opens in a new window, University of Warwick, UK, 17 May 2023.

‘“Can we be friends?”: The researcher and the researched, agency, authorship and ownership in co-production,’ FTV Annual Departmental Research DayLink opens in a new window, University of Warwick, UK, 10 May 2023.

‘“You can see the cracks underneath the wallpaper”: The ethical use of film within institutions and the possibility of (mis)representing people diagnosed with “mental illness,”’ Sustainable Futures: Ethics, Responsibility and Care in Film, Television, Screen Studies and PracticeLink opens in a new window, 11th Annual BAFTSS Conference, University of Lincoln, UK, 3-5 April 2023.

‘Filming madness: Challenging mental health myths through first-person narratives and creating social advocacy,’ Critical Perspectives on the Lived Experience of Distress and Mental Health Services, 14th Annual Critical Perspectives in Mental Health ConferenceLink opens in a new window, University College Cork, Ireland, 17 November 2022.

‘Using film to effect change: Mental health, social advocacy and the moving image,’ FTV Annual Departmental Research Day, University of Warwick, UK, 18 May 2022.

‘Understanding the self and the other through experimental filmmaking,’ The Art of/in Autoethnography, International Symposium on Autoethnography and NarrativeLink opens in a new window, [Online], Bristol, UK, 2-3 January 2021.

‘Documentary as autoethnography: A case study based on the changing surnames of women,’ The European Conference on Media, Communication and FilmLink opens in a new window, Brighton, UK, 11-12 July 2017.

Documentaries & experimental films

Tiny Little Things, 20', 2019 (Dir. Hande Çayır).

The Paris House, 10', 2019 (Dir. Hande Çayır & Daisy Wootton).

What Makes an Artist, 6', 2019 (Dir. Stephanie de Palma, Hande Çayır, Eman Elharmeel).

Mrs His Name/Yok Anasının Soyadı, 17', 2012 (Dir. Hande Çayır).

Eye-Then-Tea-Tea, 3'40'', 2005 (Dir. Hande Çayır).

My films have been screened at festivals and exhibitions such as the Akbank Short Film Festival, DocumentaristLink opens in a new window, International Crime and Punishment Festival, Art Beats FestivalLink opens in a new window, Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival, International Feminist Forum, International Filmmor Women's Film Festival, Soho House, STIFF: Seattle True Independent Film Festival, International Zeugma Film Festival, Experimental Forum, Shortfilmwire+Link opens in a new window, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film NetworkLink opens in a new window, Los Angeles International Short Film FestivalLink opens in a new window, and GuideDoc Link opens in a new windowdocumentary streaming site.

Collegiality

I chaired the panel 'Resilience and Healing,' Emergencies, The NECS ConferenceLink opens in a new window, İzmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi, 29 June 2024.

I chaired the panel 'Participatory Action Research,' 20th International Congress of Qualitative InquiryLink opens in a new window, University of Illinois, [Online], 29-31 May 2024.

I volunteered at Stanley Cavell and the Vicissitudes of LoveLink opens in a new window Conference in May 2023.

I was a peer-reviewer at the International Symposium on Autoethnography and NarrativeLink opens in a new window in January 2023.

My involvement in the reading and viewing group 'On the Road' was in support of Duncan Whitley, Warwick's filmmaker-in-residenceLink opens in a new window in 2022-2023.

I served as a committee member of the International Association for Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry’s Outstanding Audio and/or Visual Project AwardLink opens in a new window in January 2022.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Ethnographic Filmmaking with Laura Harris, 28 October 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, The University of Edinburgh.

Participatory Action Research (PAR): Equitable Partnerships and Engaged Research with Dr Kim Ozano and Dr Laura Dean, 6 & 13 August 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, University of Liverpool.

Conducting Ethnographic Research with Dr Alice Stefanelli, 23-24 May 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, University of Southampton.

Digital Research Ethics with Dr Kate Orton-Johnson, 2 May 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, The University of Edinburgh.

Filmmaking For Artists with Matthias von Braun, 31 March 2024, BFI Southbank.

Radical Research Ethics with Dr Helen Kara, 12-13 March 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, University of Southampton.

Therapeutic Spaces Behind Bars: Eco-psychosocially Supportive Prisons and Forensic Psychiatric Wards, 26-27 February 2024, British Academy & Wellcome Trust.

Introducing Institutional Ethnography: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Approach to Social Research with Dr Orla Murray, Dr Liz Ablett and Courtney Sommer, 15-16 January 2024, National Centre for Research Methods, University of Southampton.

Navigating Ethics and Social Justice in Research, 31 October-1 November 2023 (Techne AHRC Doctoral Training and Development Workshop), Global Lives Research Centre of Brunel University, London.

Create Engaging Video Using Your Smartphone with Rob Glass, 3 August 2023, The Guardian.

Working with Psychosis with Conor McCormack, 24 June 2022, WPF Therapy.

Exploring Careers in the Creative and Cultural Industries, 1 February 2022, Midlands4Cities & Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Professional memberships

British Association of Film, Television and Screen StudiesLink opens in a new window (BAFTSS)

European Network for Cinema and Media StudiesLink opens in a new window (NECS)

Society For Cinema and Media StudiesLink opens in a new window (SCMS)

Survivor Research NetworkLink opens in a new window (SRN)

Warwick Comics Research NetworkLink opens in a new window

The European Association for Gender Research, Education and DocumentationLink opens in a new window (ATGENDER)

Contact

hande.cayir@warwick.ac.uk