Ulus-devletleşme süreci ve " 'Türk' edebiyatı"nın inşası (1923-1950)

Abstract

In this dissertation, bringing into focus the relationship between the process of nation building and Turkish literature the mutual influence between the two is analyzed. Within this framework the following subjects are focused on: 1) The transmission of the concept of literature into the early Republican period and its meanings; 2) the appropriation of Namık Kemal, “the poet of the homeland”, during this period and his influence upon the process that is being studied; 3) the newlyestablished state’s control over the dramatic plays that were to be displayed by the People’s Houses; 4) the attempts of the state and some authors at modernizing people’s books/popular folk tales and the Karagöz plays in accordance with the new regime’s principles. The main argument of the dissertation is that the cultural policies of the early Republican period and their implementation through the process of construction, i.e. the intervention of the state in literature and the mission it assigns to it, “constructed” Turkish literature in certain ways. In conclusion, taking the cultural policies of the new Turkish state as a reference point, shortcomings of the Turkish literature which was formed by the nation building process, and the necessity for making up for these shortcomings first through the treasury of literature in Turkish, and then of literature of Turkey were emphasized.