Defne Over
- Contact
-
- (979) 845-7285
- dover@tamu.edu
- LASB 356
- Professional Links
- Personal Website
- Degree From
- Ph.D. Cornell University
- Department
- Department of Sociology
- Pronouns
- she/her/hers
Research Interests
- State-Society Relations
- Legal and Political Institutions
- Political Communication
- Social Movements
- Identity
Courses Taught at Texas A&M
- SOCI 412: Political Sociology
- SOCI 413: Social Movements
Bio
I am a political sociologist interested in the study of political institutions, human rights, and national, religious and ethnic identities. I earned my PhD in 2017 from the Department of Sociology of Cornell University, USA, my MA in 2009 from Humboldt University, Germany, and my BA in 2006 from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. My current work centers on a set of important questions raised by the return of repressive regimes in the 21st century and the consequential processes of democratic backsliding and mass mobilization: How do contemporary modes of state control take hold in social relations? How religious and ethnic identities mediate population response to such state control? How do these state-society interactions contest existing political, legal, and cultural institutions? I seek to respond to these questions through a historically and culturally informed analysis of the lived experiences of individuals.
Representative Publications
- Över, D,. and Tuncer-Ebetürk, I. 2022. “Insult, Charisma, and Legitimacy: Turkey’s Transition to Personalist Rule.” Social & Legal Studies: 1–23.
- Över, D. 2021. “From self-censorship to contention: Shame triggered participation in the 2013 Gezi Protests.” Current Sociology: 1–23.
- Över, Defne. 2021. “Democratic Backsliding and the Media: Convergence of the News Narrative in Turkey.” Media, Culture and Society, 43(2): 343–358.
- Över, Defne. 2019. “Freedom of Expression and the State of the Media in Turkey.” in Esra Özyürek, Gaye Özpinar & Emrah Altindis (eds.) Authoritarianism and Resistance in Turkey: Conversations on Democratic and Social Challenges. London: Springer.
- Över, Defne, Basak Taraktas. 2017. “When Does Repression Trigger Mass Protest? The Case of 2013 Gezi Protests.” Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 41: 205–239.
- Över, Defne. 2016. “Cultural Tourism and Complex Histories: The Armenian Akhtamar Church, The Turkish State and National Identity.” Qualitative Sociology, 39(2): 173–194.
Representative Awards
- Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar, Texas A&M University, 2020–21.
- Sidney Tarrow Paper Award, Best paper written in the field of European Politics, Cornell University, Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. 2015.
- Excellence in Teaching Award, Cornell University, Department of Sociology. 2011.
- Sakıp Sabancı International Research Award, Honorable Mention for the M.A. Thesis, “An Analysis of Collective Action Frames in Contemporary Turkey”. 2009.