Dr. Susan Beth Rottmann is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Özyeğin University in Istanbul, Turkey. She obtained her B.A. degree in Comparative Religion from Cornell University in 2001, her M.A. degree in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006, and her Ph.D. degree in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012.  A migration expert with 10+ years of research experience, Rottmann has published in a wide variety of international peer-reviewed journals, including International Migration Review, Journal of Refugee Studies, Space and Culture, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, Migration Studies and Critical Sociology. She has authored books and chapters published by Routledge, Oxford, Springer, Berghahn, Istanbul Bilgi University and Uppsala University Presses.

Dr. Rottmann has received several major research grants from the European Union to study migration, gender, belonging, democracy and citizenship. She was a Primary Investigator for the Horizon 2020 project, RESPOND - Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond between 2017-2021. She is currently a Primary Investigator of the Horizon Europe projects: GAPs De-centring the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond (2023-26) and OppAttune - Countering Oppositional Political Extremism through Attuned Dialogue: Track, Attune, Limit (2023-2026). Rottmann is also a Management Committee Member, representing Turkey in an EU COST action, History of Identity Documentation in European Nations: Citizenship, Nationality and Migration (HIDDEN) (2022-2026).

Rottmann’s research is European in scope, but she is also interested in political and social developments in Turkey. She is coordinating two projects supported by Tubitak. One is funded by the 1001 programme and is for the project, İstanbul, Gaziantep Ve Hatay'daki Suriyeli Kadınların Yemek, Ev-Yapımı Ve Sosyal Uyumu. The other is funded by the Tubitak 1071 programme and Belmont Forum and is called PHOENIX: Human Mobility, Global Challenges and Resilience in an Age of Social Stress. She is a researcher on the Tubitak 3501 project, Türkiye'deki Üniversitelerinde Yabancı Öğretim Elemanlarının İstihdamı ve Tutulması: Politikalar, Stratejiler ve Deneyimler. These projects explore migrant integration (social harmony), gender, food, climate change, and higher education faculty recruitment.

Recent Publications (selected)

Rottmann, S.B. and M. Nimer. 2025. “Reflexive Intersectionality, Collaborative Teams and Qualitative Methods.” In: The Oxford Handbook of Intersectional Approaches to Migration, Gender and Sexuality. Edited by Gokce Yurdakul. London: Oxford University Press.

Hava, Z.Y., N. Zanjer and S.B. Rottmann. 2025. Culinary Sustainability as a Resilience Practice for Syrian Refugees Amidst Urban Precarity in Istanbul. Food Culture and Society Special Issue on Sustainable Food and Cultural Diversity: 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2024.2429905. (Q3)

Rottmann, S.B. & P. Sezingalp Ozcetin. 2025. Domesticity and Dwelling in Displacement: Home-Making practices of Syrian Women in Istanbul Houses. Gender, Place and Culture 32 (4):520-542. DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2024.2338392  (Q2)

Rottmann, S.B. and M. Kanal. 2023. Akle Tayyibe [Tasty Dish]—Cooking Up Belonging in the Syrian Refugee Foodscape in Turkey. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies (JIRS) DOI:  10.1080/15562948.2023.2275256 (Q2)

Rottmann, S.B. 2023. Forced Migration and the Politics of Belonging in Europe: Integration Policy, National Debates and Migrant Strategies. International Migration Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183231195284. 

Web of Science Researcher ID: AAH-1047-2020
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0680-6999

Blog Posts, Online Courses and Media Appearances

• Tasting Memory. Interactive collaborative documentary film exploring the triangular relationship between food, migration, and identity, produced as part of the Belmont Forum-funded, Phoenix Project.
• VALEUS Project Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)."Values in European Union Foreign Policy", Istanbul BİLGİ University Research & Education Network on Contestations to EU Foreign Policy. Lecture on “Values in European Union Migration and Asylum Policy.”
• “Techniques for navigating difficult conversations in the university classroom.” OppAttune Project, with Harald Weilnböck (Cultures Interactive)
• Between Borders and Fears – A Digital Story of Afghan Lives in Istanbul. (Director and Script writer). For: GAPs: De-centring the Study of Migrant Returns and Readmission Policies in Europe and Beyond.” HORIZON-CL2-2022-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-09. Project Reference: 101094341.
• The struggle for a dignified return of refugees to Syria. The Loop. The European Consortium for Political Research Political Science Blog.
• Short-Term Scientific Mission Blog: Field Notes. COST Action CA21120 – HIDDEN History of Identity Documentation in European Nations: Citizenship, Nationality and Migration. 

Teaching

ANT 313: Food, Culture and Identity

ANT 316: Political Anthropology

ANT 304: Culture Through Film

SOC 104: Introduction to Sociology

SOC 201: Introduction to Social Sciences

SEC 101: “Social Science of Baklava,” “Business, Design and Art,” “What is a Human?”

Rottmann loves to incorporate her research into her teaching and to include students in her research. She encourages students to be curious and critical, to bring their experiences into the classroom and to apply what they learn about social science to their own lives.