Department:

English Preparatory Division

Education:

Ph.D., Cultural Studies, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey (ongoing)
M.A., Social Anthropology, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2019
B.A., Translation and Interpreting Studies, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2012

Other Diplomas & Certificates:

CELTA (2024)

Yoga Studies Academic Summer School, South Asia Department, SOAS, University of London, 2021 (Online)

Sanskrit 101-102-103, Dr. Antonia Ruppel at Yogic Studies (Online), 2020

Yoga Studies Academic Summer School, South Asia Department, SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom, 2019

Post-Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy, S-VYASA University, Bangalore, India (Ongoing)

Certificat de Langue Française (50 hrs, B2), L'université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France, 2010

Certificat de Langue Française (50 hrs, B2), L'université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France, 2008

Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae:

Gülnihal Özdener holds a B.A. in Translation and Interpreting Studies and an M.A. in Social Anthropology, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Studies.

Her English teaching focuses on academic literacy, critical thinking, and language use in academic contexts, and she has also taught undergraduate-level Spanish courses. Her pedagogy integrates sensitivity to cultural diversity, decolonization, and racial and ethnic issues in ways appropriate to students' language levels.

Alongside her teaching, she has over ten years of experience as a freelance translator and editor. She is the co-founder and chief translation editor of SUJALA Publishing House, where she works on the translation and editing of scholarly and literary texts, particularly in the fields of philosophy, religion, and cultural studies.

Research Interests:

Ethnographic fieldwork, historical anthropology, ritual theories (rites of passage, communitas, liminality), South Asia and yoga studies, critical approach to modern yoga consumption, "secular religion" concept and modern postural yoga practitioners, physiological and psychological effects of modern yoga practices, India’s and Africa's decolonization process, issues related to BIPOC communities in colonial states, cultural translation and social justice, translation ethics for cultural integrity and respect for indigenous values.

Publications :

National books published:

Özdener, G. (2022). Hangi Yoga? Yuj’dan Vinyasa’ya Modern Postürel Yoganın Kısa Tarihi. Sujala Yayıncılık.

Translations:

Klostermaier, Klaus K. Buddhizm'e Giriş (Buddhism: A Short Introduction). (G. Özdener Trans.) Vakıfbank Kültür Yayınları. (Upcoming).

Gibran, Kahlil. (2022). The Prophet. Elçi. (G. Özdener; Ç. Özdener, Trans.). Sujala Yayıncılık. (Original work published 1923).

Edited Works:

Klostermaier, Klaus K. Hinduizm'e Giriş (Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide). (B. Baş, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). Vakıfbank Kültür Yayınları. (2025).

Tagore, R. (1915). Kabîr'in 100 Şiiri (100 Poems of Kabîr). (T. Fermancı, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). Sujala Yayıncılık. (2022).

Kaya, K. (2019). Samkhya Felsefesi. (G. Özdener, Ed.). Sujala Yayıncılık.

Kaya, Korhan. (2019). Hint’te Tanrı. (G. Özdener, Ed.). Sujala Yayıncılık.

Kaya, Korhan. (2018). Hinduizm. (G. Özdener, Ed.). Sujala Yayıncılık.

(2018). Bhagavadgītā: Tanrının Şarkısı. (K. Kaya, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). Sujala Yayıncılık.

(2018). Lotus Sūtra. (K. Kaya, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). İstanbul: Sujala Yayıncılık.

(2018). Elmas Sūtra. (K. Kaya, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). İstanbul: Sujala Yayıncılık.

(2018). Elmas Sūtra. (K. Kaya, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). İstanbul: Sujala Yayıncılık.

(2018). Yogasūtra. (K. Kaya, Trans., G. Özdener, Ed.). İstanbul: Sujala Yayıncılık.

Talks / Presentations:

Özdener, G. (2021). Scholarship to the rescue: Navigating the problems of Turkish yoga community. Presentation presented at the Yoga Studies Academic Online Summer School, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (online).

Özdener, G. (2019). Tapas & Ascetic Practices: A Brief Review of the Ascetic Roots of Haṭha Yoga. Paper presented at the Yoga Studies Academic Summer School, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK.