I am a sociocultural anthropologist with a focus on the role of migrants and refugees in transforming the urban infrastructure of my hometown Istanbul, Turkey. I received my M.A. in the Anthropology of Media at SOAS University of London and a B.A. in Sociology and Media & Visual Arts at Koc University in Istanbul. As a researcher and videographer, I strive to incorporate my audiovisual skills into ethnography in a publicly accessible way. I joined UBC’s Department of Anthropology in 2019 for my doctoral studies.

Research Keywords:

migration, displacement, (im)mobility, urban space, infrastructures, waste, Middle East

Research Summary:

My research explores the integrated and, to a certain extent, interdependent relationship between the urban infrastructure and migration in Istanbul, a city that currently hosts half a million refugees, nearly 90% of whom are from Syria. I question how the presence of refugees shapes material, spatial and technological arrangements of the city. Infrastructures are inherently linked to migrant livelihoods through provision of basic and essential services as well as by offering financial resources that can illuminate broader issues of citizenship, belonging, and sovereignty. By conducting ethnography, I aim to grasp how the existing infrastructure, such as the construction sector, amenities like public transport, and basic municipal services like waste management, are influenced by, transformed by, or produced in response to the influx of migrants. I will also illuminate how migrants act upon, experience, and adapt to these infrastructures that determine their movement. I seek to expand our understanding of the role of migration in shaping and interacting with systems of infrastructure and thereby improve these systems with which thousands of precarious migrants must engage on a daily basis.

PhD Supervisor: Dr. Alexia Bloch

Committee Members: Dr. Gaston Gordillo, Dr. Sara Shneiderman, Dr. Rafi Arefin

2020. Sarlak, Lara. “When the ‘Gift’ of Immigration Comes with Strings.” SAPIENS. https://www.sapiens.org/culture/hospitality-in-turkey/

2019. Yörük, Erdem, İbrahim Öker, and Lara Şarlak. 2019. “Indigenous Unrest and the Contentious Politics of Social Assistance in Mexico.” World Development 123 (November): 104618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104618.

2021 – President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award

2020 – IDRC Doctoral Research Award

2020 – Public Scholars Initiative (PSI)

2020 – President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award

2019 – UBC Four Year Fellowship (4YF)

2019 – UBC International Tuition Award

2015–2016 – Jean Monnet Scholarship by the EU

2015 – Third Ranking Student Award in Media & Visual Arts for the Class of 2015