Ceyda Çekmeci (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Musicology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research examines the aesthetic and affective dimensions of political power in contemporary Turkey, focusing on how music mediates the experience of authoritarianism and populism. Her dissertation, Sounding Authoritarian Populism: The Aesthetic Life of Power in Contemporary Turkey, brings political theory and cultural analysis into conversation with music studies, drawing on concepts of hegemony, articulation, and affect. Her work has been supported by the Berkeley Fellowship and the John L. Simpson Research Fellowship, and she has presented at conferences including the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Royal Musical Association, and the International Musicological Society.
Before beginning her doctoral studies, Ceyda worked as a choir conductor and music educator in various public and private institutions in Istanbul, most notably with the Music for Peace Foundation (El Sistema Turkey). Her master’s research explored collective music-making and social transformation through music in urban Turkey. Alongside this work, she has been actively involved in community music projects serving asylum seekers, migrants, and underserved youth.
B.A., Sociology, Boğaziçi University (2016, High Honors Degree)
M.A., Musicology, Istanbul Technical University Center for Advanced Studies in Music (2019)
