Doctoral research fellow  Muhammed Aras

Muhammed Aras holds a BA in Sociology from Boğaziçi University and an MA in Transcultural
Studies from Heidelberg University. His research areas include visual culture, media studies, and
the cultural/political implications and distribution of images.
His doctoral project examines visual and media representations of armed conflict in
contemporary Turkey. It aims to analyze how visual practices and their complementary methods
shape, reproduce, and challenge collective memory, enmity, and national identity. The project
explores the role of images in shaping moral frameworks, socio-political memory, and enemy
imaginaries in relation to the Turkish–Kurdish conflict. It looks at the trajectory of how “the
enemy” has been imagined and re-imagined through visual materials: from newspaper spreads
and official press images to digital campaigns and social media content. This work extends
beyond the imagery itself by looking at the language of photography, its framing, aesthetic
choices, and historical positioning, which allows for mapping shifts in visual enmity alongside
evolving political narratives in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
This project sits at the intersection of art history, transcultural studies and media studies, and will
investigate how depictions of conflict construct knowledge about the enemy, producing
confusion, fear, and a sense of familiarity, and how this ambivalence feeds into hegemonic or
alternative narratives.