Evrim Hikmet Öğüt

Professor (Full) · Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul

evrim.hikmet.ogut@msgsu.edu.tr

Academic Qualifications

Postdoctoral Research: “Re-formation of Arab and Middle Eastern Identities through Music in New York,” Music Department, City University of New York, January 2020–January 2021.

Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, Istanbul Technical University, Centre for Advanced Studies in Music, Istanbul (March 2015): “Music in Transit: Musical Practices of the Chaldean-Iraqi Migrants in Istanbul.” Advisors: Prof. Şehvar Beşiroğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robert Reigle.

M.A. in Musicology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul (2007): “Bakışsız Bir Kedi Kara, Kareler ve Şenlikname Adlı Yapıtları Bağlamında İlhan Usmanbaş’ın Müzik Dilinin Çağdaş Türk Şiiri ile İlişkisi” [The Relation between Contemporary Turkish Music and Poetry in the Works of İlhan Usmanbaş]. Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Nemutlu.

B.A. in Musicology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory, Istanbul (2004).

State Conservatory, Violin, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul (1991–1999).

Academic and Professional Positions

2025–presentProfessor, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
2025–presentReview Editor, Music and Minorities Journal
2024–presentCoordinator, Artistic Board, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Istanbul
2018–presentChair, Ethnomusicology Program, MSGSU
2018–2025Associate Professor, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
2020–2021Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar, City University of New York
2017–2018Assistant Professor, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
2012–2013Visiting Doctoral Scholar, City University of New York
2007–2017Research Assistant, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
2005–2007Teaching Assistant, Sabancı University, Istanbul
1999–2004Violinist, Cemal Reşit Rey Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul

Academic Publications

Edited Books and Special Issues

Özdemir, Ulaş, Belma Oğul and Evrim Hikmet Öğüt (Eds.) (2024). Ruhi Su ve Türkiye’de Müzik Kültürleri [Ruhi Su and Music Cultures in Turkey]. İstanbul: Aras Yayıncılık.

Fırat, Begüm Özden, Ceren Lordoğlu and Evrim Hikmet Öğüt (Eds.) (2023). “Sesli Düşünmek” [Thinking Aloud], special issue, Cogito, no. 109. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları.

Özdemir, Ulaş, Mehtap Demir and Evrim Hikmet Öğüt (Eds.) (2022). Etnomüzikoloji: Kültürler ve Müzikler [Ethnomusicology: Cultures and Musics]. İstanbul: İthaki Yayınları.

Fırat, Begüm Özden, Evrim Hikmet Öğüt and Ceren Lordoğlu (Eds.) (2018). “Sesli Düşünmek” [Thinking Aloud], special issue, MSGSÜ Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi [MSFAU Journal of Social Sciences], 2(17). İstanbul: Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi.

Books and Book Chapters

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2024). “Sounds of Transit Migration: Chaldean-Iraqi Migrant Music in Istanbul,” in G. Heck et al. (Eds.), Making Routes: Mobility and Politics of Migration in the Global South. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2024). “İfade, Temas, Strateji: Suriyeli Müzisyenlerin Sokak Müzisyenliği Deneyimi” [Expression, Contact, Strategy: The Busking Experience of Syrian Musicians], in E. Ş. Özgün (Ed.), Etnomüzikoloji Tartışmaları: Alan Yöntem Kuram [Ethnomusicology Debates: Field, Method, Theory]. İstanbul: İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Yayınları.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2022). “Etnomüzikolojik Göç Çalışmaları” [Ethnomusicological Migration Studies], in U. Özdemir, M. Demir and E. H. Öğüt (Eds.), Etnomüzikoloji: Kültürler ve Müzikler [Ethnomusicology: Cultures and Musics]. İstanbul: Ithaki.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2019). “Etnomüzikoloji Literatüründe Geçici Göç Çalışmaları” [Transit Migration in Ethnomusicology], in N. S. Turan and Ş. Ersoy (Eds.), Şehvar Beşiroğlu’ya Armağan [A Festschrift for Şehvar Beşiroğlu]. İstanbul: Pan Yayınları.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2018). “Cultural Production as a Political Act: Two Feminist Songs from Istanbul,” in Aileen Dillane et al. (Eds.), Songs of Social Protest: International Perspectives. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2015). “Sanat: Sanatın Üretimi ve Tüketimi” [Art: Production and Consumption of Art], in E. Gökalp (Ed.), Kültür Sosyolojisi [Sociology of Culture]. Erzurum: Erzurum Üniversitesi Yayınları.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2011). “Sanatın Üretimi” [Production of Art], in A. Ergur (Ed.), Kültür Sosyolojisi [Sociology of Culture]. Eskişehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2024). “Rauf Yekta’s Notes on the 1932 Congress of Arab Music: Being a Mediator in a Dual Musical Universe,” The World of Music (New Series), 13(1): 1–33.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2021). “The Short History of Syrian Street Music in Istanbul,” Music and Minorities, 1.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2021). “Music, Migration, and Public Space: Syrian Street Music in the Political Context,” Arts, 10(4): 71.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2016). “Geçici Göçün Sesleri: İstanbul’daki Keldani-Iraklı Göçmenlerin Müzik Pratikleri” [Sounds of Transit Migration: Musical Practices of the Chaldean-Iraqi Migrants in Istanbul], Alternatif Politika [Alternative Politics], 8(3): 460–473.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2015). “Transit Migration: An Unnoticed Area in Ethnomusicology,” Urban People, 17(2): 269–282.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2014). “Müziğin Ulus aşırı Dolaşımı Bağlamında Keldani-Iraklı Göçmen Ağlarının İlişkilenmesinde Müziğin Rolü” [The Role of Music in the Transnational Networks of Chaldean-Iraqi Migrants], Porte Akademik [Porte Academic], 10.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2014). “Söz ve Sesin Sınırında Ece Ayhan Şiiri ve İlhan Usmanbaş’ın Bakışsız Bir Kedi Kara’sı” [At the Boundary of Word and Sound: Ece Ayhan’s Poetry and İlhan Usmanbaş’s Bakışsız Bir Kedi Kara], Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi [Journal of Social Sciences], 6.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2012). “İlhan Usmanbaş’ın Üç Yapıtı Bağlamında Çağdaş Müzik-Şiir İlişkisine Bir Bakış” [A View on Contemporary Music-Poetry Relationship in the Context of Three Works by İlhan Usmanbaş], Müzik-Bilim Dergisi [Journal of Music-Science], 5.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2012). “Bir Modernleşme Projesi Olarak 1932 Kahire Arap Müziği Kongresi” [The 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music as a Modernization Project], Müzik Bilim Dergisi [Journal of Music-Science], 1.

Conference Proceedings & Symposia

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2026). “Göçün ve Göçmenliğin Müzikal İfadesi: İstanbul’daki Suriyeli Müzisyenlerin Deneyimi” [Musical Expression of Migration and Migrancy: The Experience of Syrian Musicians in Istanbul], Göç Panel Bildiri Kitabı [Migration Panel Proceedings]. Datça: Datça Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2020). “İstanbul’da Suriyeli Sokak Müzisyenliği” [Syrian Street Musicianship in Istanbul], 3rd International Symposium of Music and Dance Studies. Trabzon: Trabzon University State Conservatory, pp. 114–120.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2019). “Etnomüzikolojik Göç Çalışmalarının Etiği ve Politikası: Özdüşünümsel Bir Değerlendirme” [Ethics and Politics of Ethnomusicological Migration Research: A Reflexive Evaluation], International Music and Sciences Symposium. Istanbul Technical University, pp. 533–541.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2019). “Göç, Kültürel Bellek ve Müzik: Geçici ve Yeni Gelen Göçmen Topluluklar Örneği” [Migration, Cultural Memory, and Music: The Case of Transit and Newly Arrived Migrant Communities], X. International Hisarlı Ahmet Symposium. Kütahya, Turkey.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2016). “Kimliğin Müziksel Performansı: İstanbul’daki Iraklı-Keldani Topluluğu Örneği” [Musical Performance of Identity: The Case of the Iraqi-Chaldean Community in Istanbul], International Music Symposium. Uludağ University, Bursa, pp. 155–162.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2015). “Transit Migration in Music and Migration Studies,” Musicult’15/Music and Cultural Studies: On Local vs. Universal. Istanbul: DAKAM Publishing, pp. 75–80.

Öğüt, Evrim Hikmet (2014). “Role of Music in Maintaining Social Ties Among the Chaldean-Iraqi Communities,” Musicult’14/Music and Cultural Studies: On Local vs. Universal. Istanbul: DAKAM Publishing, pp. 219–223.

Invited Talks & Keynote Addresses

March 2026“The Failure of Academic Foresight: The Experience of Syrian Musicians in Istanbul.” Postmigrant Music History(ies): Performances of Imperiality, Nation, and Homeland. Institut für Historische Musikwissenschaft, Köln, Germany.
May 2024“The Potentials and Realities of Syrian Diasporic Music in Istanbul,” Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.
June 2018“Emergent Publics: Musical Practices of Syrian Migrants in Istanbul.” University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Academic Symposium & Workshop Presentations (Selected)

September 2026“The Limits of Ethnographic Foresight: Syrian Music in Istanbul Revisited,” European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM 2026), Palanga, Lithuania.
October 2024“Between ‘East’ and ‘West’: Rauf Yekta’s Notes on the Arab Music Congress,” Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting.
September 2024“Rauf Yekta’s Notes on the 1932 Congress of Arab Music: Being a Mediator in a Dual Musical Universe,” Joint Meeting of ICTMD Austria and ICTMD Türkiye, ITU.
June 2024“Music and the Politics of Public Spaces: The Case of Syrian Street Music in Istanbul,” Mobile Lives: Itinerant and Street Trades and the Informal Economy in Global Historical Perspective. University of Trento.
November 2023“Guests or Hosts? An Overview of Syrian Musicians’ Experience in Istanbul’s Tourism Sector,” Music, Migration, Belonging/s in 21st-Century Europe. Music and Minorities Research Center, Vienna.
January 2023“Rauf Yekta’nın Kahire Arap Müziği Kongresi Notları: Müzikolo jik Bir Değerlendirme” [Rauf Yekta’s Notes on the Cairo Congress of Arab Music: A Musicological Assessment], Rauf Yekta Symposium, ITU.
March 2022“Music, Agency, and Public Space Politics: Syrian Street Music in Istanbul,” Musical Topographies of the Mediterranean. German Historical Institute, Rome.
May 2021“Street Music Practice as Social Non-Movement: Syrian Musicians’ Claim on Public Space,” Contesting Border Regimes: Sounds and Images Symposium. University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
October 2020“Claiming the Public Space: Street Music Practices of Syrian Migrant Musicians in Istanbul,” Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting.
July 2019“Sound Survivals: Affective Structures of Musical (Self)Care and Solidarity Across Borders,” Roundtable Panel, ICTM World Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.
October 2018“İstanbul’da Suriyeli Sokak Müzisyenliği” [Syrian Street Musicianship in Istanbul], III. International Symposium of Music and Dance, Trabzon, Turkey.
July 2018“Syrian Street Musicians in Istanbul,” Workshop on Music and Migration, University of Konstanz, Germany.
April 2018“Syrian Street Musicianship in Istanbul,” Undisciplining Music. Grieg Music Academy, Bergen, Norway.
March 2018“Politik Bir Eylem Olarak Müziksel Üretim” [Musical Production as a Political Act], Music and Politics Symposium, Bursa, Turkey.
August 2017“Music and Forced Migration,” IsaScience, Vienna, Austria.
July 2017“Syrian Musicians on Istanbul Streets: Street Musicianship as an Emerging Musical Practice,” Transnational Connections: Musical Dialogues Between Global Peripheries. Haifa, Israel.
September 2016“A New Research Area for Ethnomusicology: Musical Practices of Transit Migration,” Music in Society. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
May 2015“The Short History of a Feminist Song from Istanbul,” Songs of Social Protest Conference. University of Limerick, Ireland.
September 2014“Crossing the Borders One by One: Transit Migration as an Unnoticed Area in Music and Migration Studies,” XXXth European Seminar in Ethnomusicology, Prague, Czech Republic.
June 2013“Music in Limbo: The Musical Practices of the Chaldean-Iraqi Immigrant Community in Istanbul,” 5th International Doctoral Workshop in Ethnomusicology, Hildesheim, Germany.
March 2013“Singing in Limbo: The Musical Practices of the Chaldean-Iraqi Church in Istanbul,” Music of the Arab World Study Group Meeting, Baabda, Lebanon.

Research Projects

“Türkiye’de Müzik Emeğinin Durumu” [The Status of Musical Labor in Turkey: Working and Income Conditions of Music Workers]. Sivil Düşün, 2022.

“Get Closer with Creative Heritage in Distant Learning: European Folklore Enlighten The Youth Work.” ERASMUS 227, MSGSU Project Coordinator, April 2021–September 2023.

“Re-formation of Arab and Middle Eastern Identities through Music in New York.” Visiting Scholar, Music Department, City University of New York, Jan 2020–Jan 2021.

“Kentsel Mekanın Sessel Üretimi” [Sonic Production of Urban Space: Analyzing the Soundscape of Two Neighborhoods in Beşiktaş]. MSGSU Research Project, 2017–2018.

“İstanbul’daki Iraklı Göçmenlerin Yaşamında Müzik” [Music in the Lives of Iraqi Migrants in Istanbul]. ITU Research Project, 2012–2013.

“Music in the Iraqi Immigrant Life in Istanbul.” Visiting Scholar, Music Department, Graduate Center, City University of New York, Aug 2012–Feb 2013.

Artistic Projects

2016–2018Sounds Beyond the Border: Syrian Musicians in Istanbul, video-interview series. www.soundsbeyondtheborder.org
2017Art Beyond the Border: Syrian Artists in Istanbul, video-interview series.
November 2017Acoustic Utopias, curator, ARTIST Istanbul Art Fair.
October 2017Add Your Voice to Mine: Istanbul’s Musicians, workshop, Istanbul Biennial.
2017–2018Göçmenin Müziği, Müziğin Göçü [The Music of the Migrant, The Migration of Music], radio program, Açık Radio.

Awards and Fellowships

2022Best Article Award, International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM).
2020TÜBİTAK 2219 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.
2019Barbara Barnard Smith Travel Award, ICTM.
2015Best Dissertation Award, Istanbul Technical University Institute for Social Sciences.

Teaching Experience

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul (2007–present). Undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Courses taught: Ethnomusicology Theories; Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology; Music and Migration Studies; Culture and Music; History of Music; 20th Century Music.

Languages

TurkishNative
EnglishFluent, academic
ArabicA2
Ottoman TurkishA2

Professional Associations

2021–2024Council Member, Society of Ethnomusicology (SEM).
2020–presentMember, Society of Ethnomusicology (SEM).
2012–presentMember, International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM).

Public Engagement and Media

Presented public seminars on music-related topics at international institutions, universities, and NGOs.

Published essays, concert reviews, and interviews in journals and media.

Short stories published in literary collections.

Community Service

2011–2014Executive Board Member, Education and Science Employees Union (Eğitim-Sen), Universities Section, Istanbul.