Yigit Bayman
University of Arizona, Tucson
yigitb@arizona.edu
EDUCATION
University of Arizona, Tucson, United States 2021 -Present
Ph.D. Student in Middle East and North African Studies
Dissertation Title: Islam, Empire, and Authority: Ottoman Imperialism in Yemen in 1910s and 1920s
Advisor: Benjamin Fortna
University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
Graduate Certificate in College Teaching 2025
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary 2017- 2019
Master of Arts in Comparative History
Research Focus: Ottoman Imperialism in Yemen in the Early Twentieth Century
Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey 2010 – 2016
Bachelor of Arts, History
Suna-İnan Kıraç Scholarship Holder
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom 2015 Fall
Erasmus+ exchange student, Department of History
SUMMER SCHOOL
European University Institute, Florence 2018 September
Summer School in Comparative and Transnational History: Theories, Methodology and Case Studies
EMPLOYMENT
University of Arizona, Tucson 2021 – Present
Graduate Teaching Assistant
MENA160A1: Global Islam: Instructor (3 Units) 2025 Fall
MENA389: Middle Eastern Ethnic and Religious Minorities: 2025 Spring
Instructor (3 Units)
MENA354: Food Traditions of the Middle East and North Africa 2024 Fall
Food, Culture, and Religion: Culinary influence on identity formation
in the Middle East and North Africa: Instructor (3 Units)
MENA389: Middle Eastern Ethnic and Religious Minorities: 2024 Spring
Instructor (3 Units)
MENA354: Food Traditions of the Middle East and North Africa 2023 Fall
Food, Culture, and Religion: Culinary influence on identity formation
in the Middle East and North Africa: Instructor (3 Units)
MENA 160: Religion of Islam: Instructor (3 Units) 2023 Spring
MENA 160: Religion of Islam: Instructor (3 Units) 2022 Fall
MENA 277A: History of the Middle East 600 – 1453: Instructor (3 Units) 2022 Spring
TURK 101 – 401: Turkish Language: Instructor (3 Units) 2021 Fall
• Designed learner-centered, inclusive courses that reduce barriers to participation and draw on students’ diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Developed active, scaffolded assignments (e.g., cooking demonstrations in MENA 354) that connect academic content to lived experiences.
• Applied Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) principles and integrated digital tools (social annotation, interactive video, AI projects) to enhance critical thinking and communication.
• Improved student engagement by incorporating feedback through clearer rubrics, structured instructions, and interactive course design.
CONFERENCES
Middle East Studies Association 56 th Annual Meeting, Denver 2022 December
- Presented Master of Arts thesis
EXPERIENCE
Clean Clothes Campaign Turkey, Istanbul 2015 August
Syrian Refugees in Turkish Textile Industry Project (Volunteer)
Surveyed the refugees’ working conditions in the textile industry in Istanbul.
Reported to the government and multinational brands to improve the working conditions.
Worked with scholars and representatives from labor unions.
Participated in seminars about global textile industry and contemporary Turkish labor organizations.
Attended fieldwork in the factories and interviewed refugee workers.
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation 2015 June
Promoting Dialogue and Solutions: What European Legislators Think of Turkey Project (Volunteer)
Participated as a volunteer within the project focused on understanding national legislators’ rhetoric and analyzing to what extent perceptions about the Turkish accession process are influenced by prejudice and which remedies are available to solve such issues.
Transcribed interview records from national and European parliamentarians from different sides of political spectrum.
Aided in analyzing interviews through coding and creating internal reports to help inform final reporting.
Kurdish Ethnographic Photography Project 2014 May – 2015 April
Freelance logistics and coordination
Participated in a project aiming to create a collection of photographs reflecting the rural Kurdish population’s lives, traditions and social structure resulting in a coffee-table book published in the United States.
Reviewed and reported on the literature about the Kurdish population in Turkey.
Guided the crew in Turkey, and arranged appointments for meeting state
and civilian representatives.
• Served as translator, and interviewed the photographed subjects.
Netherlands Institute in Turkey 2014 July
Tophane Heritage Project (Volunteer)
Investigated urban change in the Tophane neighborhood of Istanbul and the role of cultural heritage, material and immaterial.
Analyzed from historical and sociological perspective within an international scholar team.
Surveyed literature about urban studies, urban gentrification and oral history.
Interviewed different populations of Tophane society and transcribed, coded and analyzed interviews.
Wrote daily reports and conclusions based on the data, contributing to the larger final report.
Koç University, Office of International Programs 2013 May
Cyprus Conflict & Solution project (Volunteer)
Participated in a project aiming to observe and analyze how the Turkish population living in Cyprus sees the Cyprus problem and their proposed solutions.
Worked in a team that consisted of four Turkish students and four international students.
Analyzed written and visual materials reflecting the social aspect of Cyprus conflict.
Interviewed various populations of Turkish Cypriot society, and analyzed the data.
Organized the logistics of fieldwork such as access to the academic materials, transportation and accommodation.
Presented the results at the university
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Computer Skills: Microsoft Office
Languages: Turkish (native), English (fluent), Arabic (advanced), Ottoman-Turkish (intermediate), and French (intermediate)
HONORS
Ranked 79th in National University Examination in 2010 among 1.9 million students
GRANTS
The British Yemeni Society
Academic Grant 2025
Yigit's e-portfolio 