Ahmet Karagedik, PhD Student
Ahmet Karagedik is a PhD student in Critical Music Studies. He earned his BFA in Turkish
Folk Dance with top-ranking honors from Istanbul Technical University State Conservatory
in Turkey and his MMT in Music Therapy from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada.
His research focuses on African-American jazz musicians who converted to Islam between
the 1940s and 1970s. It examines how their conversion influenced their musical practices,
their connections to the Civil Rights Movement, and their use of jazz as a means of
protest and social expression. Additionally, he explores the influence of Islam on
the music and dance traditions of Turkish women in Anatolia in the 21st century, focusing
on the intersection of religion, gender, and cultural expression. Ahmet also plays
the kaval, a traditional Turkish folk music instrument.