Browsing by Subject "Westernization"

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Open Access
The alla franca dandies: modern individuality in the late 19th century Ottoman novels
(2018-09) Mühürcüoğlu, Korhan
The thesis studies the Hamidian regime (1876-1909) of the Ottoman Empire with regard to the relations between Ottoman modernization, Westernization and the proto-individualism that was then taking roots without the concomitant development of capitalism and in the absence of bourgeoisie. To investigate these relations, the thesis concentrates upon the alla franca dandy literary figure; a francophile who adores European culture and feels aversion towards the Ottoman/Islamic culture. The alla franca dandy owes his existence to Ahmet Mithat’s Felatun Bey and Rakım Efendi (1876) published as a critique of “false Westernization” and an attempt at circumscribing the limits of proper modernization, balancing the Ottoman/Islamic culture and Western material progress. He was thus born out of the Ottoman intellectuals’ ideas of and anxiety over Westernization, who sought to modernize the society without subverting the traditional foundations. As the Ottoman/Islamic and Western cultures collided, the alla franca dandy became the embodiment of “false Westernization” and served the intellectuals’ objective to educate the masses by setting a bad example. However, though the alla franca dandy was born to circumscribe the proper limits of modernization, he ironically evolved, through the novels of authors like Ekrem and Gürpınar), to express individualistic attitudes and put forth a modernist critique of the Ottoman/Islamic tradition as the intellectuals’ epistemological assumptions eroded and the society’s present is questioned and problematized as in need of intervention. Through an analysis of the alla franca dandy’s development, the thesis tries to bring forth Ottoman modernity’s unique nature and individualism’s role in it.
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Arabesk’s role in Türkiye’s cultural development
(Bilkent University, 2023) Coşkun, Abdurrahim; Saeedi, Salar; Alqolaq, Youssef; Younis, Yassin; Abu-Irhayem, Ziad
Arabesk is a hybrid musical mixing classical Turkish folk music and Arabic music with a light trace of western elements. It is important to study the genre since its evolution, and the public’s reactions to it tell a story about a young nation-state struggling to find its identity after World War I. Arabesk’s development paralleled that of Turkish culture as a whole in the last century. The genre grew popular with the dawn of industrialization in Türkiye and was mainly listened to by migrants coming from isolated villages that have not been a part of the state’s plan of westernization. It was instantly opposed by white-collar urbanites. In the end, Türks came to reconcile and live as one and enjoy the same type of music together.
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Batı’yı Batı ile aşmak isteyen Fizikçi: Asım Orhan Barut’un biyografisi
(Bilkent University, 2020) Arslan, Ali; Erdem, Ege; Deveci, Fatih Efe; Doğukaya, Beliz; Dilsiz, Can
Asım Orhan Barut (1926-1994), Malatyalı bir Türk Fizikçidir. Üniversite yıllarından itibaren yurt dışında çalışmaya başlayan Barut, 1970’ler ve özellikle 1980’lerde Türkiye’de de çalışmaya başlamıştır. Kuramsal fiziğin temel problemleri, matematiksel fizik ve parçacık fiziği hakkında yaptığı çalışmaları literatürdeki önemli eksikleri doldurmuş, Batılı üniversitelerde okutulmuştur. Barut için gelişmekte olan ülkeler ancak - gelişmiş Batılı ülkeler ile iletişim halinde olmak şartıyla- bilimsel gelişmeler yapabilirse kalkınabilir ve tam bağımsız olabilirlerdi. Bu makalede Barut’un çalışmalarının ve bilim hakkındaki görüşlerinin tarihsel koşullardan etkilendiği anlatılmış, Barut’un kültürel bağımsızlığını kaybetmediği savunulmuş, her noktada Barut’un istekleri ve kararlarından da bahsedilerek determinist bir yaklaşımdan uzak durulmuştur.
Open Access
A case study of Hollywood to Yeşilçam crosscultural film remakes
(2018-01) Çevikoğlu, Gevher Ebru
This study examines a close reading of Yeşilçam films Şoförün Kızı (1965), Fıstık Gibi Maşallah (1964) and Fıstık Gibi (1970) as cross-cultural remakes of Hollywood films Sabrina (1954) and Some Like It Hot (1959). The research deals with remake culture in Yeşilçam period from the viewpoint of adaptation studies by giving a brief information about how remakes are at the overlap of different studies. In this study, cross-cultural film remake culture in Yeşilçam is investigated as part of the Westernization efforts in newly established Turkish republic by establishing a link with the star images and gender perception. The comparative study shows similarities as well as differences based on material and behavior signs between not only the cinematic traditions, but also overall realities of a definite class in the two societies in question.
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Coffeehouses in Late Ottoman Istanbul from the perspectıve of European travellers
(Bilkent University, 2021) Agha, Nafisa; Ahmed, Dima Hazem Ahmed; Faiz, Hassan İmran; Gökmen, Denizhan; Pitafi, Marvi
This research paper aims to discuss the development of the Ottoman coffeehouse in the late Ottoman Empire in conjunction with the socio-political role it played during that time period. The birth of the Ottoman coffeehouse can be traced all the way back to the early 16th century whereby coffee was brought to Istanbul by a handful of traders. Since then, coffeehouses developed into something larger than a mere source of recreation. Instead, they aimed to provide avenues for political debate and the expression of art. People from all walks of life congregated at these coffeehouses, which further developed their presence as a modern-day public sphere. As such, this paper explicates the development of the Ottoman coffeehouse with regards to their socio-cultural and political function with an added focus on the perspective of European travellers who frequented these establishments.
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Hagia Sophia: Turkey’s road to secularism
(Bilkent University, 2020) Taghiyev, Tunjay; Örge, Kaya; Alam, Maryium Nayyar; Noor, Manahil; Dar, Muhammad Anas Saad
Hagia Sophia, one of the greatest monuments in the world, has always been subject to propaganda to represent the power and the message of its ruling authorities. Throughout its life, Hagia Sophia represented the power of Christianity and Islam respectively under the Byzantines and the Ottomans. This paper analyzes the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a mosque to a museum in 1935, concentrating on the overarching events fueling the change and the aftermath for the modern Turkish Republic in its pursuit of secularism. The association between the conversion and the ideologies of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is also studied to understand the social and political reforms of the country. The primary sources such as newspaper articles from that era, official government documents, and archeological reports regarding the relics in Hagia Sophia facilitated the discussion around the core of the conversion and its legitimacy. Meanwhile, to comprehend the significance of Hagia Sophia and the overall historical context, a variety of secondary sources are used. The background on the events preceding the conversion elucidates the underlying reasons for the reactions of society. While its architectural history and significance are discussed to understand the multi-faceted masterpiece, the domestic political reception and the portrayal of the process in the international media are brought up to stimulate the connection of the musealization to the new secularist principles.
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Haldun Dormen ve Dormen Tiyatrosu
(Bilkent University, 2018) Şahin, Melik Burak; Şenocak, Deren; Ergün, Eylül; Urhan, Yunus Emre; Başpınar, Zeynep
Bu araştırmada, Haldun Dormen’in Tiyatro kariyeri ve Haldun Dormen’in kurduğu Dormen Tiyatrosu incelenmiştir. Haldun Dormen’in tiyatroya başlamasında etkili olan etkenler ve Dormen Tiyatrosu’nun sergilediği önemli oyunlar anlatılmıştır. Bu süreçte yaşanan önemli olaylar ve Dormen Tiyatrosu’nun Türk Tiyatro Tarihine olan etkileri üzerinde durulmuştur. Araştırma sürecinde yazılı ve sözlü kaynaklardan faydalanılmıştır.
Open Access
Imagi-nation of gendered nationalism : the represantation of women as gendered national subjects in Ottoman-Turkish novels (1908-1938)
(2005) Küçükalioğlu, Elif Gözdaşoğlu
The relation between gender and nationalism has been a controversial issue since the 1980’s when the feminist analyses have brought to light different ways in which women are implicated in nationalist projects. Although the feminist literature contains several insights about the significance and implications of women’s symbolic role in nationalist projects, the representation of women as gendered national subjects in cultural productions is not fully examined. The starting point for this study has been Anderson’s definition of nation as an imagined community according to which individuals imagine that they belong to same national collectivity in their minds. Even though Anderson talks about the member of the imagined community as gender free subject, it is obvious that each and every member of this community is imagined either as a male or a female subject. Being a female or male subject, in turn, affects the form of belonging to the imagined community. In this study, I examine the claim that gendered imagination determines the symbolic roles and meanings attributed to the membership of a collective identity, that is the nation. In order to understand the ongoing production of gendered nation in Anderson’s sense which is mainly realized in cultural domain, novels play a significant role in terms of representing the imagined boundaries and functioning as mediums through which cultural difference is expressed. As it is mentioned, the link between national formation and the novel is not accidental. The novel can be used as a place where different and conflicting problems are debated through the representation of some imaginary figures. The aim of this study is to examine the making of women as gendered national subjects in the novels in the preRepublican (Ottoman-Turkish) and early Republican period (1908-1938) by focusing on women’s images and to analyze the formation of gendered national identity. By examining women’s images in the novels, my objective is to identify some of the specific features of Turkish nationalism.
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Küçük dünyaların büyük etkileri: İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi ışığında Türkiye’nin kültürel küreselleşmesi
(Bilkent University, 2025) Ürgen, Kerem; Köksal, Defne; Tokel, Tuna Sarp; Eldem, Berk Kaan; Yarangümelı, Ada; Oğuzer, Cem
1980 sonrası Türkiye'deki oyuncak ve oyuncakçılık kültürü köklü bir değişim geçirmiştir. Bu makale, küreselleşme ile liberal ekonomik politikalara geçilmesini, geleneksel oyuncak üretimini nasıl etkilediğini incelemekte ve el yapımı oyuncaklardan seri üretim plastik ve metal oyuncaklara geçişi vurgulamaktadır. Bu dönüşümlerin sosyal ve kültürel etmenleri, toplumsal etkileriyle ele alınmakta ve geleneksel oyuncakların giderek daha nadir hale geldiği, cinsiyet ve ticari odaklı oyuncakların da artan popülerliği gözlemlenmektedir. Ayrıca bu çalışmada, özellikle İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi'nin kültürel mirası koruma ve kamuoyunu oyuncakların kültürel ve tarihi önemi hakkında bilgilendirme rolü üzerinden incelenmektedir. Makale, oyuncak kültüründeki değişiklikleri geniş bir kaynak yelpazesi ve alıntılarla aktarmayı ve bu değişikliklerin toplumsal etkilerini kapsamlı bir biçimde özetlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, geleneksel oyuncakların kültürel nesneler olarak korunmasının önemini vurgulamakta ve modern oyuncak tasarımına dengeli bir yaklaşım
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Negotiation of identity in the global era in home furnishings in Turkey
(1995) Balım, Yeşim
The consumption environment in developing countries have been changing drastically under the effects of globalization and economic, political and social transformations. Consumers facing these changes experience an identity problem where the local identity must be negotiated with the new "modern" identity. Negotiation of identity thus becomes a serious dimension of consumption patterns in developing countries. This study examines how people in Turkey negotiate their sense of identity in the global era in terms of house furnishings. As variables indicating the extent of transformation in Turkey, rate of urbanization experienced and generation belonged were used. The emerging themes of conflicting views about the 'West' as well as negotiation through product choices, usage patterns and images hold are discussed.
Open Access
The representation of women as gendered national subjects in Ottoman-Turkish novels (1908-1923)
(Routledge, 2007) Kucukalioglu, E. G.
In order to understand the ongoing production of gendered nation in Anderson's sense, which is mainly realized in the cultural domain, novels can play a significant role in terms of representing the imagined boundaries and functioning as mediums through which cultural difference is expressed. As mentioned by Jean Franco, the novel can be used as a means to work out imaginary solutions to different and conflicting problems through the representation of some imaginary figures. The aim of this article is to examine the representation of women's images in novels in the pre-Republican (Ottoman-Turkish) and early Republican period (1908-1923) in order to analyze the formation of gendered national identity. Women's images in these novels offer important clues towards having a better understanding of the production of gendered nationhood and exploring the specific characteristics of Turkish nationalism such as Westernization, the notion of collective soul, women's sexuality, emancipation and education. © 2007 Taylor & Francis.
Open Access
Tanzimat romanında kamusal alan ve serbest zaman etkinlikleri
(2007) Günaydın, Ayşegül Utku
The Tanzimat period overtly accelareted the Westernization process and as such, it brought about various socio-cultural changes, and these changes are distinctly observed in the realms of public sphere and leisure activities which represent social vivacity to the greatest degree. Hence, the focus of this thesis is the detailed study of the reflection of this social transformation in the Tanzimat novel with reference to the theories of public sphere and leisure. To this end, five Tanzimat novels, which stand out among others on the grounds of their emphasis on public sphere and leisure, constitute this thesis’s object of study. These novels, written in the second half of the nineteenth century, in order of their year of publication are: Akabi Hikyayesi (1851) by Vartan Paşa, Esrâr-ı Cinayât (1884) by Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Araba Sevdası (1889-Year of publication: 1896) by Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem, Udî (1899) by Fatma Aliye Hanım and Bir Kadının Hayatı (1890) by Mehmet Celâl. In the discussion of public sphere and leisure activities presented in these novels, the status of men and women are analyzed in their particular contexts and also from a comparative view-point. A primary conclusion drawn from this comparative analysis is that, in these novels, the changes in people’s everyday lives, induced by the Westernization process, are made manifest mainly through the integration of certain symbols of Western society into the new life styles and through the reformation of the public sphere. It is also worthy of attention that although the reshaping of the public sphere is chiefly determined by secularisation and the promotion of a new conception of entertainment, the public sphere still serves, above all, the socialization of men, especially those from the elite class; it is evident in these novels that the factor of social class is the dominant factor in the reformation of public sphere and leisure. Consquent to the discussion of how men’s and women’s leisure activities differ from one another and how these activities bring forth masculine and feminine discourses, it has become apparent, contrary to the general assumption, that the extent to which these activities are indicators of social status vary greatly. This thesis aims, accordingly, to account for and interpret the connections between the formation of public sphere, leisure and gender as well as different social statuses in the Tanzimat novel.
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The effect of the Cold War on Turkey’s relationship with neighboring nations: binary opposition within the country
(Bilkent University, 2025) Rzazade, Amal; Othman, Amir; Batak, Emir; Hussain, Syed Rafeh
This research discusses the effect of the Cold War on Turkey’s relationships with other nations while mainly focusing on the change of the country’s foreign policy and the binary opposition within the country. Since Turkey joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and became more strategically aligned with the United States, it started getting more Westernized as a country. Simultaneously due to Turkey’s geographical location and Islamic origins, this Westernization of the country created tension and opposition between secularism and Islamic values. The research discusses how Turkey tried to navigate this opposition and minimize its impact while still aligning with the West’s objectives. However, the Post-Cold War dynamics worsened the opposition as Turkey got rejected by the European Union and reshaped its foreign policy in order to build regional partnerships. The research also displays how the Cold War era challenges impact Turkey’s modern identity.
Open Access
Thinking past 'Western' IR?
(Routledge, 2008) Bilgin, P.
The laudable attempts at thinking past 'Western' IR should not limit their task to looking beyond the spatial confines of the 'West' in search for insight understood as 'difference', but also ask awkward questions about the 'Westernness' of ostensibly 'Western' approaches to world politics and the 'non-Westernness' of others. For there may be elements of 'non-Western' experiences and ideas built in to 'Western' ways of thinking about and doing world politics. The reverse may also be true. What we think of as 'non-Western' approaches to world politics may be suffused with 'Western' concepts and theories. Indeed, those who are interested in thinking past 'Western' IR should take an additional step and inquire into the evolution of the latter. While looking beyond the 'West' may not always involve discovering something that is radically 'different' from one's own ways of thinking about and doing world politics, such seeming absence of 'difference' cannot be explained away through invoking assumptions of 'teleological Westernisation', but requires becoming curious about the effects of the historical relationship between the 'West' and the 'non-West' in the emergence of ways of thinking and doing that are - in Bhabha's words - 'almost the same but not quite'. This article looks at three such instances (India's search for nuclear power status, Turkey's turn to secularism, and Asia's integration into the liberal world order) in the attempt to illustrate how 'mimicry' may emerge as a way of 'doing' world politics in a seemingly 'similar' yet unexpectedly 'different' way.
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Türkiye’de alkol tüketim kültürünün değişimi ve batılılaşmayla gelişen bar kültürü
(Bilkent University, 2025) Keskin, Doğa; Tuğrul, Barış Tuna; Kutay, Sıla; Karaarslan, İkbal
Bu çalışmada Orient Bar başta olmak üzere zamanla değişen barlar incelenip, eğlence kültürünün modernleşme süreci ele alınacaktır. Türkiye’de bar kültürü, Cumhuriyet Dönemi’nde başlayan, modernleşme hareketleriyle değişen ve birçok farklı kesime hitap eden bir kültürdür. Toplumsal yapıyı yansıtmasıyla, sosyal statüleri belli eden barlarıyla bu kültür, hep ilgi çeken bir konu olmuştur. Hükümetin yaptığı düzenlemeler, çıkardığı kanunlar ve politikalar tüketim oranını olumsuz bir şekilde etkilemiştir. Bar kültürünün zamanla ekonomiye olan etkisi, alınan vergilerin ağırlaşması ve turizm sektörünün canlanmasıyla artmıştır. Popülaritesi zamanla artan bar kültürü, yeni tip alkolleri Türkiye’ye kazandırmış, farklı insan profillerinin barlarda görülmeye başlanmasını sağlamıştır. Publarda kadınların da popülasyonun artması, mekanlara yeni bir soluk getirmiş, yeni tip müzikler de eklenince farklı ve özel atmosferler oluşmaya başlamıştır.
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Türkiye’de askeri vesayet: yükselişi ve çöküşü
(Bilkent University, 2021) Baştuğ, Hüseyin; Tatlıcıoğlu, Yaşar; Başlı, Ahmet Şinasi; Seçgin, Elif
Türk siyasi hayatına damga vurmuş bir olgu olan askeri vesayet, ordunun batılı bir konseptte organize edildiği 19. Yüzyıl başlarından itibaren ülke kaderine yön veren unsurlardan biri olmuştur. Çok partili siyasi hayata geçişten sonra siyasetçileri denetleyen ve gerekli gördüğü yerde siyasete müdahale eden bir kuruma dönüşen ordu, 1980 sonrasında yaşanan sosyal, ekonomik, politik ve konjonktürel değişimlerin de etkisiyle zayıflamış ve egemenlik alanını kaybetmiştir. Çalışmamızda Türkiye’nin ekonomik, sosyal ve toplumsal dengeleri ile değişen iç ve dış konjonktürü dikkate alınarak askeri vesayetin yükseliş ve çöküşü incelenecek, Türkiye yakın tarihinde yarattığı etkiler değerlendirilecektir.
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Untangling the threads of authenticity: Turkish carpets and its transformation as a result of westernization
(Bilkent University, 2023) Shaikh, Badar Khalid; Zaka, Hamna; Khan, Huda; Asim Ibad, Syed Muhammad; Sarfraz, Zainab
1920'lerden itibaren Türk halıları, coğrafi sınırları aşan estetik çekiciliğiyle Batılı uygarlıkları büyüledi. Bu halıların belirgin özellikleri arasında el dokuma teknikleri, organik boyaların kullanımı, dokulara vurgu, karmaşık geometrik soyutlamalar ve sembolizm ve renk teorileri yer almaktadır. Bu özellikleriyle birlikte, bu halıların kişiselleştirilmiş hikaye anlatımından seri üretime geçişin ardındaki sebeplere dair sorular ortaya çıkıyor. Bu araştırma makalesi, Türk halılarının, zanaatkarlık ve kültürel mirasın sembolü olarak kökenlerinden küreselleşmiş varoluşlarına kadar zengin tarihini ve dönüşümünü kapsamaktadır. Makale daha sonra Türk halılarının Batı'ya girişi, Rönesans dönemindeki ilk ortaya çıkışı ve Batılı estetik görüşlerin gelişimi de dahil olmak üzere incelenmektedir. Türk halılarının endüstriyel bileşeni, Atatürk'ün sanayi devrimiyle aynı zamana denk gelen talep artışı ışığında incelenmektedir. Daha sonra el işi halılardan seri üretim halılara geçiş, tüketici talebini karşılamak ile özgünlüğü korumak arasındaki dengeyi yansıtıyor. Çalışma, Batılılaşma nedeniyle değişen cinsiyet dinamikleri ve becerilerde halı dokumacıların geleneksel sorumluluklarına yönelik zorlukları ele alırken, aynı zamanda Türk halılarının işgücü üzerindeki etkisini ve orijinal öncülerini de değerlendirilmektedir. Artan üretimin çevresel etkilerini göz önünde bulundurmak, sektördeki sürdürülebilir ve etik uygulamaların önemini vurgulamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışmada DOBAG projesi akılda tutularak Türk halısının yeniden dirilişi tartışılmaktadır.
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Was Turkey’s attempt for modernization a disguise for de-islamization?: between 1920-1940
(Bilkent University, 2021) Özeren, Çağla Burcu; Abbas, Muhammad Zain; İjaz, Qandeel; Ahmad, Mirza Usama; Nafae, Abdul; Ali, Mahed
Whether Turkey's search for modernity and attempts at Westernization led to de-Islamization or not is a huge debate. Events that are relevant to the scope of the research cover the period between the beginning of the 1920s until the end of the 1930s. The aim is to unfold the policies and reforms made by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - as the president of the Turkish Republic - and the extent of their effect on the deIslamization of Turkey. The relation between modernization and de-Islamization in Turkey is based on various factors consisting of the idea of secularism, education, power of women, changes in the lifestyle of the people, and suppression of Islamic practices. It is important to recognize the influence of modernization attempts on the pre-existing ideologies of Islam and the way of living in Turkey. In order to assess the effect of the modernization attempts in Turkey on Islam through different perspectives, this study will also take the approach of comparing the situation through the eyes of the western and eastern media.
Open Access
Westernization, modernization and Turkish-Arab relations during Democrat Party era
(2001) Ocaklı, Sait
Academic studies on Turkish foreign policy claim that Turkey’s foreign policy objectives after the transition to a multiparty democracy indicate cleavages with the mono-party period. According to these studies, while the Republican rule between 1923-1950 refrained from intervening in Middle Eastern matters, the Democrats drew Turkey into adventures in the region. This thesis argues that although Turkish foreign policy objectives during the Democrat era seemed to indicate differences from the preceding era, these differences insofar as the Middle East was concerned were more of style than substance. Turkey’s attitudes towards the Middle East were strongly affected by western objectives in the region which themselves were affected by changes in the world balance of power after 1945. Turkey’s own foreign policy objectives were very much framed within the context of the overarching goal of adaptation to westernisation laid down by the founders of the republic. The western factor therefore played a determining role in Turkey’s foreign policy planning. Given that the Arab world remained under western domination, it was therefore inevitable that relations between Turkey and Arab governments would be adversely affected.