Berke Çetinkaya

I am a Byzantine historian working on both the past and the present of the Byzantine Empire. My previous research has focused on ideology and practice on the Byzantine-Islamic frontier with a particular emphasis on frontier historiography, geographical imagination and discourse, and the governance between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Before joining UW-Madison, I also worked as the Administrative Coordinator of the Boğaziçi University Byzantine Studies Research Center in Istanbul.

At UW-Madison my Ph.D. thesis investigates how civil elites used interpersonal relationships and discourses of loyalty and friendship to accumulate social, economic, and cultural capital and elevate their status in society and the state hierarchy. I also work on the modern reception of Byzantium in contemporary political discourses and digital media in the Middle East and Eurasia. My research is on the appropriation and exploitation of Byzantium in discourses around ultra-nationalism, far-right politics and activism, religious extremism, Islamophobia and gender roles.