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Semiha Topal
John Carroll University
Occupation
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Contact
Primary Phone: (202) 355-5870
Department of Religious Studies Wren 315
William and Mary
Williamsburg VA 23187-8795
United States
ABOUT
Semiha Topal received her PhD from Arizona State University in Religious Studies in 2012. She holds an MA degree in Gender Studies and Religion from SOAS-University of London in UK. She specializes in the question subjectivity, self-construction and women’s agency in contemporary Muslim societies, particularly Turkey and the Middle East. Her current research examines women and piety in Islam, focusing on cases of de-veiling in Turkey. She teaches courses on introduction to Islam, women and gender in Islam, and Islam & secularism in her current role as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Islam in the Department of Religion at William & Mary.
Discipline
Religious Studies/Theology
Sub Areas
Gender/Women's Studies
Identity/Representation
Middle East/Near East Studies
Modern
Modernization
Turkish Studies
Geographic Areas of Interest
Turkey
All Middle East
Specialties
Religion In Public Sphere
Languages
Turkish (native)
English (fluent)
Arabic (elementary)
Education
PhD | 2012 | Religious Studies | Arizona State University
MA | 2006 | Gender Studies and Religion | SOAS, University of London
Abstracts
Building a Pious Self in Secular Settings: Pious Women in Modern Turkey In Search of Non-politicized Piety: Stories of Deveiling in the Post-2016 Turkey