On the Issues Episode 170: Serap Fišo

Today’s guest is Serap Fišo, an independent researcher, freelance project expert, social activist, and storyteller. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Sociology from the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2023, where she examined forced migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and identity construction in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this episode, Alon and Serap discuss how the Bosnian war and the subsequent Dayton Peace Agreement affected women’s development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially academic challenges faced by women, how socioeconomic issues fueled displacement and migration, and memory and history and their impact on refugees, especially women. In addition, they discuss I Want to Live, a participatory theatre initiative involving migrants from a number of countries living in Sarajevo, exploring womanhood, migration, displacement, family, and belonging.

Full bio
Serap Fišo is an independent researcher, freelance project expert, social activist, and storyteller, born and raised in Lüleburgaz, Türkiye. She comes from a Macedonian-Turkish family whose roots trace back to Štip, North Macedonia.

She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Sociology from the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2023. Her doctoral research examined forced migration, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and identity construction in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 2014 to 2023, she was engaged in higher education and academic research as a Senior Assistant in the Department of Political Science at the International University of Sarajevo.

She currently works as a freelance project expert and independent researcher. Her research interests include migration studies, women’s and gender studies, memory studies, qualitative research methodologies, participatory and community-based arts, and post-conflict peacebuilding.