Welcome!

I'm an anthropologist and a musician. I conducted field research in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia and Indonesia. I play (and occasionally teach) Eastern Mediterranean musics and Javanese gamelan.

In recent years I worked on the anthropology of the voice. I conducted research on melodized speech and narratives of sorrow among the Yezidis of Armenia (I wrote a book on that). I also engaged in comparative work on Kurmanci-speaking communities in Armenia and Turkey together with Alexandra Pillen (UCL) which will lead to a co-edited volume on quotes, mimicry and impersonation entitled The Tones of Others.

Previously I conducted research on the Molokans of Transcaucasia, on mourning ceremonies in Baku (Azerbaijan) and on the laments of displaced Kurdish women in the suburbs of Istanbul and Diyarbakir (Turkey). I published various articles on these topics.

My current research deals with the current changes in Yezidi religious practices, especially among the diaspora in Eastern and Western Europe. 

 

NB: The rolling snippets in the banner above are from my fieldworks. Click on any of them to access the relevant gallery.