Holding a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Sociology from Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, Engin lived in different parts of Turkey before coming to the University of Minnesota as a Sociology PhD student. A methodologically flexible researcher interested in political sociology, cultural sociology, and sociology of knowledge, Engin’s master’s thesis analyzed how an alt-right movement targeting Turkey’s street dogs came to gain mainstream political influence. Besides the everyday politics and contestation surrounding the daily livelihoods of street animals wherever they exist, Engin tackles many subjects that seem disparate at first glance but ultimately connect through an overarching question of coexistence versus exclusion — like the language politics of Serbo-Croatian and the moral geopolitics of “Europe.” Engin’s chief regional interests are Turkey and the Balkans. Engin enjoys street photography, possesses a vast knowledge of Eurovision Song Contest trivia, and can be found watching Yaprak Dökümü in his free time.