1960s Turkey from the perspective of the Peace Corps volunteers

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine the memoirs and interviews of the Peace Corps volunteers who served in Turkey to display their image of Turkey in the 1960s. Peace Corps was active in Turkey from 1962 to 1971. Peace Corps Turkey volunteers served in every region of the country in villages, towns, and cities. They lived and worked with Turkish people for two years. Thus, they had an intimate first-hand experience and interesting observations about various topics. This thesis will argue that the volunteers viewed Turkey with the outlook of modernization theory. They observed a country that needed development and modernization. They noticed the traditional gender roles and gender separation in Turkish society. Turkish women needed to overcome these difficulties to modernize. They also noted the underdevelopment of infrastructure and healthcare system as major hindrances. They commented that the Turkish government worked hard to modernize the country, but there was some resistance to its efforts by the Turkish people.