Leyla Neyzi facts for kids
Leyla Neyzi, born on July 29, 1961, is a Turkish professor. She studies people, societies, and history. She currently teaches at Sabancı University in Istanbul.
About Leyla Neyzi
Leyla Neyzi was born in Istanbul, Turkey. Her father, Ali H. Neyzi, was a businessman and writer. Her mother, Olcay Neyzi, was a doctor who specialized in children's health, called a pediatrician.
Leyla Neyzi went to Robert College in Istanbul. Then, she studied Anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures) at Stanford University. She earned her first degree there in 1982. Later, she got her PhD in Development Sociology (the study of how societies change and grow) from Cornell University in 1991.
She taught as a professor at Boğaziçi University from 1992 to 1994. From 1995 to 1996, she led a project about "oral history." This means she collected stories and memories from people about the past. Today, she teaches Anthropology at Sabancı University.
One of Leyla Neyzi's important studies was about the diaries of a person named Yaşar Paker. He was from a small Jewish community in Ankara in the early 1900s. Yaşar Paker was called to serve in special "labor battalions" twice. These were groups of people who had to do hard work for the country. He served once during the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) and again during the Second World War. Turkey did not fight in the Second World War, but still had these groups. Leyla Neyzi's study about these diaries was published in a journal called Jewish Social Studies in 2005.
Awards and Honors
Leyla Neyzi has received several awards for her important work:
- Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award (1992): This award was for her PhD paper, given by a group that studies the Middle East.
- Research Award, Population Council Middle East Awards Program (1998–1999): She received this award for her research on family history and identity in Turkey.
- Research Award, Sabancı University (2003–2004): This award was for her project on the oral history of a neighborhood called Teşvikiye.
- Visiting Scholar, Oxford University (2004): She was invited to be a visiting expert at Oxford University in England.
