Ozan Say

Ozan joined Yale OISS in 2015. Prior to coming to Yale, he received his M.A. in History from Bogazici University in Istanbul and his Ph.D. in 2013 from the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, Bloomington. Ozan's academic training in folklore included specialization in festivals, rituals, migration, and ethno-religious identities. He conducted ethnographic fieldwork in various parts of Turkey with ethnic and religious minorities and migrants from the Balkans. He also designed and taught undergraduate classes, first at Indiana University and later at Bridgewater State University, in communication, folklore and Middle Eastern anthropology.

As an international educator he provided extensive support to international students and scholars at Yale from immigration advising to transitional and cultural adjustment issues. He has also been an active member of NAFSA Region XI as a presenter at the regional meetings and served as KC-ISSS Rep in the regional team from 2018 to 2021. 

Throughout much of his formal education Ozan was very involved with folk dancing. After college, as he continued his graduate education, he became a professional dancer and choreographer at the Bosphorous Performing Arts Ensemble.  He has a green thumb and he loves fishing on the shores of the Aegean when he is back home. Ozan is married to Sarah Insley, who served as the Dean of Branford College from 2015 to 2022, and is father of Evelyn 'Evie' Tamar and James 'Jem' Andrew. They also have a Cairn Terrier named Bertie, who has dedicated followers on Facebook.