Professor Ouzhan Y覺lmaz, known to us as Ozi, joined the Center this summer as a visiting Aggarwal Blackburn Scholar. A professor and vice dean at Erzincan Binali Y覺ld覺r覺m University in T羹rkiye, he studies childrens literature and Turkish education. While he was here he worked with both summer programs and collaborated with Amanda on conference proposals. We asked him about the visit and what comes next.
Ouzhan Y覺lmaz at the 蹤獲扦 gateway this summer.
Q What is one moment from your time at Kent that has stayed with you?
What stayed with me most was the feeling of being welcomed from the very beginning. The Global Education Department made Kent feel like a home away from home through their kindness, hospitality, and constant support. The conversations in Moulton Hall, shared activities, and informal moments with colleagues made me feel that I was not simply a visiting scholar, but genuinely part of the 蹤獲扦 community.
Q You worked with English language educators and incoming Fulbright students. What did the two groups teach you?
The two summer cohorts were one of the most special parts of my time at Kent. Meeting teachers from different parts of the world, listening to their stories, and sharing ideas with them reminded me how much we can learn from one another. Despite coming from very different contexts, we shared many of the same hopes for our students. I left those conversations with new ideas, new friendships, and a wider perspective.
The Fulbright pre-academic cohort at the freshly painted Rock on Front Campus this summer.
Q Your research looks at the challenges children face in stories. What question in that work interests you most right now?
The question I keep returning to is: Whose stories become visible, and whose remain absent? My current research focuses particularly on migration-themed childrens literature. Although more books about migration are being published, greater visibility does not necessarily mean greater diversity. I am interested in whose migration experiences, identities, languages, and perspectives are representedand which ones remain outside the story.
Q Where would you like the conference proposals and our collaboration to take us next?
I hope the conference proposals are only the beginning of a longer collaboration. What started during my summer at Kent has already developed into shared research questions and new ideas. I would love to see this grow into conference presentations, strong publications, and future projects connecting our different academic and cultural contextsand, most importantly, continuing the friendships and intellectual exchange that began at Kent.
