Dilvin Usta

Biography

Dilvin joined the Department as a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Paul Johnson, Dr Xiaodong Lin and Dr Silvia Falcetta in 2017, and she started her new role as an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Sociology in 2021.

Dilvin’s research is concerned with the new political formations of sexuality, intimacy and personal life, cultural change, conflict, and migration practices. Her PhD entitled ‘The Passionate Journey: Everyday Life and Practices of Transnational Migrants in the UK’ revealed migrants’ hidden experiences and practices that have either been marginalised in both intimacy and migration studies. Dilvin’s research focuses on the intersection between intimacy, transnationalism and relationships across borders. Her research explores these themes concerning culture, religion, gender and social transition. Dilvin’s research on culturally-specific intimacy practices introduces a novel way of thinking about and studying intimacy and relationships in non-Western cultures.

She has taken part in various research projects and conducted fieldwork in the UK and internationally.  Before joining the Department, Dilvin worked in the private sector in Turkey on Attitudes towards Academic and Professional Development, Divorce Rate and a Law concerning Domestic Violence. She recently completed a student-voice project called ‘Life in Lockdown’ with the University of York Students’ Union. The project explored students' experiences of everyday life and learning engagement during the first lockdown - particularly those who self-identify as working class, BAME, and/or disabled.