Cagla Ay
Grant Type
Dissertation Fieldwork GrantInstitutional Affiliation
Massachusetts, Amherst, U. ofGrant number
Gr. 10491Approve Date
April 6, 2023Project Title
Ay, Cagla (Massachusetts, Amherst, U. of) "Rethinking the Agrarian Question Through Multispecies Lens: A Transnational Exploration of Finike Oranges"CAGLA AY, then a graduate student at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, was awarded funding in April 2023 to aid research on “Rethinking the Agrarian Question Through Multispecies Lens: A Transnational Exploration of Finike Oranges,” supervised by Dr. Felicity Aulino. This 15-month multi-sited ethnography spanned southern Turkey and Riverside, California, combining immersive fieldwork among orange growers and citrus scientists, 153 interviews, and extensive archival research. Centered on Finike, renowned for its oranges, the project explores the material forces and intertwined histories shaping small-scale orange production. It uncovers the socio-ecological complexities driven by market capitalism, migration, and ecological pressures. Findings show that while family farming persists, Finike’s labor-intensive orange production depends heavily on migrant workers navigating racialized labor markets. At the same time, deregulated markets hinder branding efforts that highlight the quality of Finike oranges. These challenges are compounded by quarries and real-estate projects which threaten agricultural livelihoods, revealing contradictions in rural development paradigms. Climate vulnerabilities and inflation further erode small-scale farming, while private agroindustries pressure public research and scientists. In this context, certain orange varieties and properties are prioritized in scientific discourses and cultivation practices, shaped—and sometimes challenged—by the oranges themselves. Integrating ethnography with archival research, the project illuminates cosmopolitan influences on Turkey’s orange cultivation, challenging colonial origin-story narratives and offering an anticolonial perspective on Washington navel oranges’ earthly prominence. Ultimately, this research highlights Finike oranges’ historical and geographical specificity, providing nuanced insights into agrarian change in a multispecies world.