Umur Kosal

Umur is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen. His current research looks into the early years of the British Mandate for Palestine and is focused on the socio-spatial conflicts over the sacred status of Jerusalem's Western Wall during the Mandate period.

Umur completed his Master's in Sociology at the University of Glasgow in 2017 and earned his BA (Hon) degree in Sociology from Akdeniz University in 2012. To get a more in-depth insight into the difference between sociological and theological approaches to studying religion, he also studied the philosophy of religion in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department at Dokuz Eylul University between 2013-2015.

• Social/sociological theory and philosophy and methodology of social sciences.
• Historical Sociology; social transformation and cultural studies
• Sociology of Religion (especially with reference to culture, politics and social conflicts)
• Sociology of Space/Place (especially in relation to history, religion, and politics)

MEB International Graduate Scholarship (2015-2022)

Umur's current research investigates the socio-spatial conflicts over the sacred status of Jerusalem's Western Wall during the British Mandate for Palestine. Focusing on such a specific historical and spatial context, he aims to provide a conceptual frame of the sacred within which the historical and empirical aspects of the sacred places can be discussed from a sociological point of view. This research is supervised by Dr Andrew McKinnon and Dr Marta Trzebiatowska, both of the sociology department at the University of Aberdeen.

Religion, Sacred, Politics, Historical Sociology, Sacred Place, the Western Wall, British Mandate, Jerusalem