He received his Ph.D. in German studies from Cornell University in 2008, and his research has been funded by the Fulbright Commission, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), MU Alumni Organization and Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Areas of scholarship include the history of the university and scholarly culture, European intellectual history from the 18th century to the present and media theory. His teaching interests include contemporary Turkish-German literature and film, blogging, and book and media history.