Ayse Irem Karabag is a doctoral student specializing in critical refugee studies, queer/gender studies, world literature and narratives of resistance. In her research, she positions refugee worldmaking as a storytelling device that can be effectively leveraged as social capital and analyzes how queer refugees become more “integratable” by strategic storytelling of the memories of home and translation of trauma.

Irem’s articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Diyalektolog and the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature. Irem has presented papers at the Harvard Institute for World Literature (2022), ACCUTE (2022-2023), CCLA (2022), Louisiana State University (2023), and Lancaster University (2020).

Before arriving in Toronto, Irem received her Master’s in English and Transcultural Studies from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Her MA thesis focused on the “slacking” practices of white-collar workers in contemporary American literature. In 2017, she received her BA from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. Irem also works at the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network at Carleton University, Ottawa, as a project writer.

Email Address: airemka@yorku.ca