Female Penn Professors Spotlight Series: Secil Yilmaz

Written by Elizabeth Jin (C ‘27); Edited by Anna Moehn (W ‘26)

Secil Yilmaz is an assistant professor of history and a core faculty member of the gender, sexuality, and women studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work focuses on the history of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, with a focus on the history of gender, sexuality, science, and medicine. She is currently working on a book titled Biopolitical Empire: Syphilis, Medicine, and Sex in the Late Ottoman World which explores how syphilis led to the transformation of both the medical sphere and the understanding of family, gender, love, and science.

Here are some of my key takeaways from our interview:

Q: “Could you give a brief overview of how you got yourself to where you are now, professionally?”

A: “I started my studies back in Turkey, in Istanbul, where I’m from. I was a PhD student there already, and also very much involved in feminist activism. And I wanted to know – how can we historically think about feminism and gender dynamics and history of sexuality to be able to make sense of today. I mean… today’s challenges in the labor sector, in the family context, being a man, being a woman, and everything that is part of gender questions, basically I was drawn into them.

I decided to originally work on the history of gynecology and the ways in which the history of gynecology emerged as a concept and a field of study in the late Ottoman Empire. But archival work showed me that it was not just about women’s bodies but actually men’s bodies matter to be able to understand the history of the body and sexuality…

I was very happy where I was [in Turkey], but I was also very curious about the ways in which... academia looked like, how everyday life affects the way that people think, so I wanted to diversify my understanding and see new intellectual terrains and be a part of them. So that brought me to the United States…”

Q: “What are some ways that your two fields of study– history and gender and sexuality– intersect with one another, especially in the context of the Middle East?”

A: “...The two concepts of the history of the Middle East and the history of sexuality are often misconceptualized. There are a lot of stereotypes, post-truth, false information, and corruption in understanding a place like the Middle East as a region that has often been eroticized and sexualized from the angle of the Western gaze. But also the history of sexuality... There are a lot of misconceptions about what sex entails, and there is also a lot of domination over sexuality as a sphere of life.

…Like there’s this whole misconception about gender in the Middle East. First of all, it’s really about Islam as oppressing women and so on and so forth. But actually, from a more historical reading, we see that there is an impact of colonialism, modern imperialism, and the consecutive wars that really challenged peoples lives and sort of changed the implications of gender dynamics. And in return, actually, Arab feminism or Iranian women’s feminist activism in the course of the 20th century changed the regimes, changed the political contexts in those local contexts…”

Q: “What is your favorite thing about teaching so far?”

A: “I mean one thing is that it’s very difficult… teaching the history of the Middle East in this particular context is very difficult. Even the most open-minded comes in with a lot of preconceived notions, so it’s really about laying the groundwork of knowledge and building upon that. Starting from ground zero, and putting the building blocks on that to see a fuller picture is really challenging, but also that’s the beauty of it…

I know that when people come back in the Spring semester, they’re gonna only remember one thing from this class. One statement, one particular piece of knowledge that is going to guide them through when they are reading a newspaper or novel about the Middle East, and I want to make sure that that statement is solid. That simple, one sentence: the Middle East is a place that has a long, diverse, and challenging but beautiful history, that the people who live there come from many different backgrounds. If that stays with [my students] for the rest of their lives, I take that as a very big achievement for all of us. So that’s what I really love about teaching. And of course, getting to know all these beautiful people…”

Q: “What is one piece of advice that you would give to undergraduate students, specifically Wharton Women members?”

A: “Here is my pitch. There is a lot of learning that happens in the class, but even more learning happens outside of the class, especially in college years. College years are the most precious time when you can actually multiply your diverse experiences. I would say to the members of this club, to definitely diversify your experiences, get into.. the environments that are not necessarily your comfort zones but actually sort of challenges you and gives you a little bit of discomfort. Because that’s actually one way you can get to know yourself.

Community-based activities always enriches, especially considering that we are at Penn, and West Philly is one of the most diverse parts of Philadelphia. So, I would definitely encourage everyone to be more in contact with our immediate environment. And if there are any possibilities.. college time or immediately post-college years is the best time to get international experience. As a person that made the decision to come to the United States, it was only [supposed to be] for one year, but sort of changed my life.. it is truly a learning experience that shaped the rest of my career, intellectual thinking, and who I am as a person. So, I definitely encourage you to get that experience. It’s really important that the years of your 20s are dedicated to save up and build upon your diverse experiences…”