History of Science and Technology M.A Program

History of Science and Technology PhD Program

Science, Technology and Society M.A Program

Political Studies M.A. Program

Political and Social Thought PhD Program

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences


ITU Humanities and Social Sciences

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The curriculum in humanities and social sciences isopen to traditional analysis, techniques and approaches in areas such as history, moral philosophy, philosophy of art, political philosophy and theory, philosophy of science and technology, as well as new methods and alternative approaches that are emerging in this field within a developmental process.

 

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Digital Commons and Collective Immunity: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Yetişkin Doğrusöz Rethinking Resilience After the 2023 Earthquake

by Kutsi Aybars Çetinalp | Jun 27, 2025

The Special Call General Research Project (ÖÇ-GAP) “Building Collective Immunity and Resilience through Digital Commoning: Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 Activities During the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake”, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Yetişkin and funded by the Istanbul Technical University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project No. 44462), aims to critically reframe the widely used concept of resilience in disaster studies. The project approaches resilience not as a neutral technical term but through the critical frameworks of Science and Technology Studies (STS), particularly drawing on theories of biopolitics and immunology.

 

This exploratory research was developed in direct response to the urgent knowledge needs arising during the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake. It focuses on the emergency intervention period, analyzing how digital platforms shaped collective action, knowledge production, and community coordination. Specifically, the study examines Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 environments as digital commons; spaces where citizens collaboratively shared crowdsourced information, organized aid, and fostered solidarity.

 

The project explores how these digital commoning practices contribute to what it calls societal immunity—the collective capacity to respond to crises through digitally mediated cooperation. By conceptualizing immunity beyond the biomedical field, the research investigates how digital infrastructures and participatory technologies shape social resilience in times of disaster.

 

This interdisciplinary inquiry bridges urban political ecology, disaster governance, and digital cultures, offering a fresh theoretical approach to understanding resilience. It also contributes to rethinking how technological systems, when appropriated collectively, can serve as tools for both survival and resistance.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Yetişkin Doğrusöz’s project stands as an example of timely, critical, and collaborative research that engages with contemporary crises while contributing to the development of innovative academic frameworks.