Globalization and Turkish literature

Abstract

Globalization has become a synonym for a process of worldwide integration that arises from interchange of products, ideas and cultures. It affects every single part of the world and every single culture. There are two main processes qualified as results of globalization. The first one is unification of cultures under the primarily Western or American influence and the second one is affirmation of cultural differences. Throughout history, Turkish literature has been exposed to global cultural processes mainly as a part of the Islamic civilization. Globalization in our times has both positive and negative effects on Turkish literature. Due to the fact that Turkish is not a language spoken worldwide, for a long time Turkish literature has been unavailable to most of the world. However, globalization has increased interests for different and less known literatures and has supported translations and publishing Turkish authors. Globalization involves a certain 'culture of freedom' that enables everybody to create their own identity and offer it to the world. Under this influence and thanks to their postmodern style Turkish authors have become more 'global' and much more understandable for the rest of the world. Orhan Pamuk is the most global Turkish writer nowadays. But there are also other successful authors who write not only for Turkey but for the world such as Elif Şafak, Nedim Gürsel, Zülfü Livaneli, Serdar Özkan. It is obvious that Turkish literature has finally found its authentic response to the challenges of the globalized world literature.