This thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the...Show moreThis thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the diaspora were analyzed using the qualitative research method narrative analysis. In the analysis, the reflection of cultural transformation through migration in Emirdağ's poetry has been observed. The results provide an insight into the migration culture and the outcomes of socio-cultural and economic transnationalism.Show less
This study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more...Show moreThis study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more exclusive national identity that is established in the official Turkish discourse. The alliances that are touched upon are the political environment of Diyarbakir; the celebration of Newroz; the commemoration of murder of Hrant Dink; and Armenian and Assyrian Genocide commemorations. I argue that the main manifestation of most of these solidarities is creation of more openness about the Genocides, in especially Kurdish discourse. The alliances depicted in this paper are each different and each form a different degree of challenge to the Turkish national identity. I conclude that the political environment of Diyarbakir forms the greatest threat, which can be perceived in the state’s crackdown of its established institutions and initiatives of cultural practices, as it does not fit the homogenous identity that the Turkish State ascribes to itself.Show less
This study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more...Show moreThis study examines the solidarity alliances of the Armenian, Assyrian and Kurdish communities in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Additionally, it poses the question, whether these alliances challenge a more exclusive national identity that is established in the official Turkish discourse. The alliances that are touched upon are the political environment of Diyarbakir; the celebration of Newroz; the commemoration of murder of Hrant Dink; and Armenian and Assyrian Genocide commemorations. I argue that the main manifestation of most of these solidarities is creation of more openness about the Genocides, in especially Kurdish discourse. The alliances depicted in this paper are each different and each form a different degree of challenge to the Turkish national identity. I conclude that the political environment of Diyarbakir forms the greatest threat, which can be perceived in the state’s crackdown of its established institutions and initiatives of cultural practices, as it does not fit the homogenous identity that the Turkish State ascribes to itself.Show less
This study analyses the portrayal of women in Turkish films on the Dutch Netflix. With the help of three concepts from feminist film theory, namely male gaze, male voice and female subjectivity,...Show moreThis study analyses the portrayal of women in Turkish films on the Dutch Netflix. With the help of three concepts from feminist film theory, namely male gaze, male voice and female subjectivity, and with the help from earlier studies on the portrayal of women in Turkish films, it finds that women in the Turkish films on the Dutch Netflix are overall portrayed in more passive ways than men, that the female characters often play a supporting role as compared to the male characters and that the concepts from feminist film theorists can still be applied to recently released films. Some films in the corpus however also contain feminist themes and elements, such as female protagonists and female characters that are not occupied with a search for love, but focus on their own personal development. This study concludes that while women are overall not portrayed in a positive way in the corpus, these feminist themes show a promising development that will hopefully continue in the future.Show less
Child marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that ...Show moreChild marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that "only poor people marry their daughters off at an early age". To what extent are girls protected by their countries laws, and are the underlying causes the same in the three countries or are there significant differences?Show less
This thesis discusses the secular-Islamic feminist paradigm in the Middle East, specifically in Turkey, and the thesis focusses on the current feminist debate between secular and Islamic feminists...Show moreThis thesis discusses the secular-Islamic feminist paradigm in the Middle East, specifically in Turkey, and the thesis focusses on the current feminist debate between secular and Islamic feminists in Turkey.Show less
The goal of this thesis is to focus on the Greek women of Istanbul and how all these political events influenced their lives, while also providing an analysis of their language choices and their...Show moreThe goal of this thesis is to focus on the Greek women of Istanbul and how all these political events influenced their lives, while also providing an analysis of their language choices and their status in the society of Istanbul. The analyses will be based on a set of letters of written by Sophia to her daughter Elpida who moved from Istanbul to Netherlands in 1954. In addition to these letters, other sources of data include interviews of five Istanbul Greek women, information from the Society of Greeks of Istanbul and books that have collected testimonies, newspaper articles and report of the Greek consul and speeches of Turkish officials. It can be concluded from all these source materials that the Greek women of Istanbul were unequivocally influenced by the political events of 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s in distinctive ways.Show less
This thesis titled studies the localization of Maoism as a global ideology among the milieu of Turkish leftists in the years 1969–1971.The thesis titled “Maoism in Turkey” studies the localization...Show moreThis thesis titled studies the localization of Maoism as a global ideology among the milieu of Turkish leftists in the years 1969–1971.The thesis titled “Maoism in Turkey” studies the localization of Maoism as a global ideology among the milieu of Turkish leftists in the years 1969–1971. In doing so, it analyzes the debates on and about Maoism within the intellectual field around the journal Proleter Devrimci Aydnlk (Proletarian Revolutionary Enlightenment, PDA). This thesis divided into three parts, The first part assesses how Maoism sprawled from China and reached the rest of the world, included Turkey. The second part assesses why Turkish leftist group adopt Maoism and the establishment of the Maoist Journal of Proleter Devrimci Aydınlık. The third part, “Debating Maoism in PDA Journal”, will deal with how Maoism was interpreted by Turkish leftists from 1969 to 1971, through an analysis of the Proleter Devrimci Aydınlık journal and other related leftist journals.Show less
The overwhelming majority of the more than five and a half million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East without their civil documents. Particularly in a refugee context, it...Show moreThe overwhelming majority of the more than five and a half million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East without their civil documents. Particularly in a refugee context, it is crucial for the standard of living for Syrian refugees and eventual return to Syria to be adequately documented. Complex civil registration systems in the host countries, however, often prevent Syrian refugees from obtaining civil documentation, thereby expanding the problem of the lack and loss of civil documentation of Syrian refugees. This thesis examines the different civil registration systems and their consequences for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon through an in-depth analysis focusing on legal status, marriage and birth registration. This thesis argues that the difference in implemented civil registration systems is determined by each host country’s social, political, and economic situation before and during the Syrian refugee influx and the extent to which the Syrian refugees have impacted the country, positively and negatively. In Turkey, the government has adopted a temporary protection regime, which includes refugee-sensitive civil registration systems. However, in Lebanon and to a lesser extent Jordan, Syrian refugees are still facing many challenges trying to obtain civil documentation due to the complex civil registration systems. As the eight years of hosting refugees has turned out more harmful than beneficial for the host countries, discussions on the return of Syrian refugees has increasingly become louder. However, a lot of change is still required to ensure that Syrian refugees are adequately documented.Show less
Kürk Mantolu Madonna is a love story written in Turkish language by Sabahattin Ali, a Turkish journalist, poet and writer who is remembered for his Leftist political stance and articulated...Show moreKürk Mantolu Madonna is a love story written in Turkish language by Sabahattin Ali, a Turkish journalist, poet and writer who is remembered for his Leftist political stance and articulated criticism towards the Turkish Republic’s Kemalist one-party state. One of the most interesting aspects of Kürk Mantolu Madonna is that it was written over seven decades ago but over the last decade or so it has become extremely popular, exemplified by a myriad of posts about the novel on social media, in Turkey. This thesis is intrigued by the sudden, unexpected and unprecedented nature of the novel’s current becoming very popular. Hence, it sets out to address Kürk Mantolu Madonna’s present popularity by examining, through different academic lenses, various types of evidence such as publishing history, customers’ reviews, and social and political contexts.Show less
This MA Thesis explores the small Syriac Orthodox community of Istanbul. The micro study includes portraits of three Syriac Orthodox families who moved away from Mardin. They give insight into the...Show moreThis MA Thesis explores the small Syriac Orthodox community of Istanbul. The micro study includes portraits of three Syriac Orthodox families who moved away from Mardin. They give insight into the way the community members stay connected, the study searches how the social identity of the Syriac Orthodox community in Istanbul is being experienced. It considers how members see themselves and others from within their community, and how they see ‘the outsiders.’ Qualifications are given based on religious and cultural customs and on collective memory. The differences between generations are kept in mind and reveal why the identification process is changing throughout time.Show less
This investigation is the result of a resarch on Turkish and Italian archives through which an attempt is made to revive the story of the Turkish air officers training in Fascist Italy between 1930...Show moreThis investigation is the result of a resarch on Turkish and Italian archives through which an attempt is made to revive the story of the Turkish air officers training in Fascist Italy between 1930 and 1932.Show less
Sâmiha Ayverdi represents a curious case of where the usual crude dichotomic categorisations that mark modern Turkey appear to loose validity. Having the outward appearance of a westernised ...Show moreSâmiha Ayverdi represents a curious case of where the usual crude dichotomic categorisations that mark modern Turkey appear to loose validity. Having the outward appearance of a westernised ‘republican woman’ as envisaged by the reformist Kemalist elite, Ayverdi managed to merge multiple, seemingly conflicting, personas in her person as a novelist, a public intellectual and the head of a Sufi brotherhood. This thesis seeks to evaluate Ayverdi’s memoirs in terms of their value of providing us with a counter-narrative on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of the republic and the numerous political crises that it faced throughout its existence. It is not a study of Ayverdi’s Sufi inspired religious views which have been discussed elsewhere. It is hoped this study will constitute a humble contribution to the academic discourse regarding the hybridity of Turkish intellectuals.Show less
