Dr. Sezim Sezer
ssezer@ben.edu
Phone: 847-572-2729 (home), 312-927-8748 (cell)
Degree Level/Concentration: Post-doctoral in Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University, New York; Ph.D. in Art History from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey; M.S. Architectural History, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey; B.A. Archaeology and Art History, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey

Professional Background:
Dr. Sezer has worked as an Instructor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey over 15 years. Her area of interest is focused on the cross-cultural artistic exchanges between the East and West, and the cultural diversity and its impact on art and architecture with a particular stress on the Modern Period. Her Master's thesis has examined the process of Westernization in the architecture of Topkapi Palace. Her doctoral dissertation deals with the presence and the impact of the Latin Catholics in Constantinople/Istanbul on art, architecture and urban spaces. After the completion of her PhD in 1997, she joined Cornell University's Department of Near Eastern Studies as a visiting scholar. She is the author of "Latin Catholic Buildings in Istanbul: A Historical Perspective" (2004) published by Isis Press and co-author of "The Ottoman Missak[ian] Archives" (2003), a collection in Johannesburg, South Africa, illustrating the story of the Missak[ian] family. She has published articles and presented papers on European influences on Ottoman art and architecture, the pluralistic society, non-Muslim communities and their impact on the Ottoman city and art. In 2010 she received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and participated in the Summer Institute supported by titled “Re-mapping the Renaissance: Exchange between Early Modern Islam and Europe”. Her current area of interest is cultural and artistic exchanges during the Early Modern period and would like to explore further on the “ Ottoman Empire’s contribution to the shaping of the European Renaissance”.