Emel Özdora – Bilkent COMD – Bilkent University Department of Communication and Design

Biography

Emel Ozdora is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Design at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. She received her Ph.D in Mass Communication from the University of Florida in 2009. She worked as a communication specialist for UNICEF Turkey before transferring to academia. Her research interests include organizational communication, public relations, and social advocacy. She has received two research grants from the Arthur Page Center on refugees, framing, and advocacy. She is currently working on a research project funded by the University of Chicago on healthcare provision to refugee and migrant communities in Turkey.

Research Interests: Public Relations, Organizational Communication, Reputation Management, Inter-Cultural Communication, Advocacy, Corporate Social Responsibility

Courses Taught

COMD 204 // Media Studies II
COMD 346 // Introduction to Advertising
COMD 461 // Public Relations and Communication Campaigns
COMD 439 // International Public Relations
COMD 462 // Special Topics in Advertising
COMD 358 // Professional Communication

Selected Publications & Works

Ozdora, E., Bas, O., & Ogan, C. (2025), ‘Public attitudes and politicians’ discourses regarding the Syrian diaspora in Türkiye: Implications for the C4D model’, Journal of Global Diaspora & Media, Special Issue: ‘Diaspora, Rethinking Praxis and Theory in Communication for Development’, 6(1), 103–19. DOI:10.1386/gdm_00047_1 (Scopus)
Ozdora-Aksak, E., Dikmen, E. Ş., & Kılıç, N. P. (2023). Managing Pandemic Communication Online: Turkish Ministry of Health’s Digital Communication Strategies during COVID-19. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1551-1572. (SSCI)
Dimitrova, D., & Ozdora-Aksak, E. (2023) What a Difference Context Makes: Comparing Communication Strategies of Migration NGOs in Two Neighboring Countries, Journal of Borderlands Studies, 38(6), 939–956. https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2022.2161065 (SSCI)
Uysal, N., & Ozdora Aksak, E. (2022). ‘Waging War’ for Doing Good? The Fortune Global 500’s Framing of Corporate Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability, 14(5), 3012. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053012 (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E., Connolly-Ahern, C., & Dimitrova, D. 2021. Victims or Intruders? Refugee Portrayals in the News in Turkey, Bulgaria, and the UK, Media War and Conflict, 14(3), 282-302. doi: 10.1177/17506352211013482. (Scopus)
Ozdora-Aksak, E. & Dimitrova, D. V. 2022. Walking on a Tightrope: Challenges and Opportunities for Civil Society Organizations Working with Refugees and Migrants in Turkey. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33(2), 374–385. doi: 10.1007/s11266-020-00312-8. (SSCI)
Ozdora Aksak, E. 2020. Discursive Construction of Syrian Refugees in Shaping International Public Opinion: Turkey’s Public Diplomacy Efforts, Discourse and Communication, 14(3): 294-313. doi: 10.1177/1750481319893769. (SSCI)
Dimitrova, D. V., Ozdora Aksak, E., & Connolly-Ahern, C. 2018. On the Border of the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Views from Two Different Cultural Perspectives, American Behavioral Scientist, 62(4): 532-546. doi:10.1177/0002764218756920. (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E. and Atakan-Duman, S. 2016. Gaining legitimacy trough CSR: An analysis of Turkey’s 30 largest corporations. Business Ethics: A European Review, 25(3): 238-257. doi: 10.1111/beer.12114. (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E., Ferguson, M.A. and Atakan-Duman, S. 2016. Corporate social responsibility and CSR fit as predictors of corporate reputation: A global perspective. Public Relations Review, 42(1): 79-81. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.11.004. (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E. 2015. An Analysis of Turkey’s Telecommunications Sector’s Online Presence: How Corporate Social Responsibility Contributes to Organizational Identity Construction, Public Relations Review, 41(3): 365-369 doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.01.001. (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E. and Atakan-Duman, S. 2015. The online presence of Turkish banks: Communicating the softer side of corporate identity. Public Relations Review, 41(1): 119-128. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.10.004. (SSCI)
Atakan-Duman, S. and Ozdora-Aksak, E. 2014. The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Online Identity Construction: An Analysis of Turkey’s Banking Sector, Public Relations Review, 40(3): 862-864. doi: 10.10167j.pubrev.2014.07.004. (SSCI)
Ozdora-Aksak, E. and Molleda J. C. 2014. Immigrant Integration through Public Relations and Public Diplomacy: An Analysis of the Turkish Diaspora in the Capital of the European Union. Turkish Studies, 15(2), 220-241. doi: 10.1080/14683849.2014.926235. (SSCI)

Books and Book Chapters

Alakoc, B. P., & Ozdora-Aksak, E. (2022). “Comparing National versus International Coverage of Terrorism: A Framing Analysis of the Reina Nightclub Terrorist Attack,” (pp. 104-123), In Ebru Karadogan Ismayil and Elnur Ismayil (Eds.) Media and Terrorism in the 21^st Century. IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-9755-2.
Ozdora-Aksak, E., & Dimitrova, D. (2021). “Giving Voice to the Voiceless: The Case of Development Workshop Collective in Turkey,” (pp. 109-127), In Source, G. (ed.) Media, Cultural & Communication Studies: Global Perspectives on NGO Communication for Social Change. Routledge.
Dikmen, E. Ş., Ince, L. Y., & Ozdora Aksak, E. 2021. “Game Studies State of the Field: Lessons from the Past and Directions for the Future” (pp. 105-122). In Enes Emre Başar (Ed.) Paradigm Shifts within the Communication World. Nova Publishers, New York.
Dikmen, E. Ş., Kılıç, N. P., & Ozdora-Aksak, E. 2020. “Pandemi Döneminde Kamu Spotlarının Çevrim içi Paylaşım Mecraları: T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı YouTube Kanalı Örneği,” (pp. 75-104). In Erhan Eroğlu & Figen Ünal Çolak (Eds.) Sosyal Bilimci Gözüyle Pandemi: COVID-19 Üzerine Araştırma, Uygulama ve Tartışmalar. Literatürk Yayınları, İstanbul.
Atakan-Duman, S. and Ozdora-Aksak, E. 2014. Organizational Identity and Corporate Social Responsibility: Insights from Turkey’s Banking Sector. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing: Saarbrücken, Germany. ISBN: 978-3-659-63191-7.