PhD in Sociology (Full Scholarship), Koç University, 2020

MA in Cultural Studies (Full Scholarship), Sabancı University, 2015

.BA in Sociology, Galatasaray University, 2013

Kadıköy Anadolu High School, 2007

Dr. İrem Soysal Al received her PhD in Sociology from Koç University in November 2020. Her doctoral dissertation focused on alternative food networks in urban settings, producer organizations in rural contexts, food sovereignty, rural–urban relations, and agroecology.

Between 2021 and 2024, she worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Maltepe University, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses including Social Stratification in Turkey, Sociology of Food and Agriculture, Rural Sociology, Sociology of Consumption, Contemporary Social Problems in Turkey, and Introduction to Sociology.

Her research examines the organizational sustainability of alternative food networks, municipal food and agriculture projects, and the intersections of citizenship, democracy, and alternative public spheres in new-generation ecological food cooperatives. In addition, she has conducted projects on gender-related issues such as intensive motherhood, access to early childhood education, women’s participation in the labor market, and women’s cooperatives.

From 2022 to 2024, she served on the Executive Board of the MAU Center for Women’s Studies and Research, affiliated with the UNESCO Chair, and currently acts as an advisory board member at Genç İşi Cooperative.

Alternative Food Networks; Global Food Movements; Rural–Urban Relations; Sociology of Food and Agriculture; Sociology of Consumption; Gender Studies.