Dr. Gündoğan is an urban sociologist and political scientist with his Ph.D from Binghamton University. Since 2018 he has served as Core Teaching Faculty in the University Honors Program and takes pride in developing interdisciplinary Honors Signature Courses. These courses align with Professor Gündoğan's research exploring utopianism, social and global inequalities, everyday life, global urbanization, and cinematic representations of urban spaces. Dr. Gündoğan is currently compiling his research in a book tentatively titled “The Backwater: Peripheral Urbanization and Urban Politics in Istanbul”.
Outside of teaching and research Dr. Gündoğan is a translator and hopes to one day translate a sci-fi/fantasy novel, as an avid fan of the genre, from English to Turkish. He is also a baker and a self-taught sketcher developing the skill of crosshatching with an ink pen.
Social (In)equalities - IDH 3117
This course explores the structures and institutions of social inequality along the intersectional axes of class, race, and gender/sexuality by focusing on how these categories are socially constructed, maintained, and experienced.
Utopias/Dystopias: An Homage to Social Dreaming - IDH 3118
As models of a perfect society or fictional contemplations of bleak futures, utopias, and dystopias shed light on our present condition. This course examines utopian thinking, differing perspectives on state-society relations, and the question of individual freedom within society through various materials such as political manifestos, movies, novels, or poems.
City in Cinema: Visual Stories of/through Urban Space – IDH 3311
Throughout history, cities have served as vibrant and complex backdrops to countless stories, capturing the essence of human experiences, aspirations, and challenges. This Honors seminar explores urban spaces through the lens of film and dives deep into the visual narratives crafted by filmmakers to portray the urban environment.
Everyday Life: Time/Space/Power – IDH 3401
This course focuses on everydayness as an object of inquiry. We focus on the notions of habits, routines, tempo, rhythms, plans, schedules, and programs, boredom, lack of spontaneity and surprise, anxiety, and familiarity. We explore the intricate relationships between power, social space, everyday life, and the web of rhythms, places, objects, and bodies.
Global Inequalities: The Local and the Global in the Modern World-System – IDH 3430
This course focuses on global inequalities and takes them as an outcome of the long-term, large-scale transformation of the modern world system. It examines various ethical perspectives regarding globalization and developmentalism.
Global Urbanization – IDH 3407
In this course, students focus on the great urban diversity (e.g., language, citizenship, religion, ethnicity/race, class, socioeconomic status, gender, and sexuality).