Thirty years of gender and women's studies in Turkey

Abstract

The development of the Gender and Women's Studies (GWS) in Turkey as an interdisciplinary field of academic study traces back to the initial launch of the Women's Research Centre in 1989. Since the date, the Gender and Women's Studies have shown an increasing pace of institutionalization at the universities. Currently, there exist two distinct but intertwined bodies at the universities: Gender and Women's Studies Centres and Gender and Women's Studies study programs which include numerous MA programs and four PhD programs. Here, I focus on the institutional history of the GWS in Turkey for the last thirty years to keep a record of the history of the institutionalization by reflecting upon its distinctive features and the current situation of the GWS education in Turkey. I explain the institutionalization of the Gender and Women's Studies in Turkey by addressing three interrelated instances which are the development of international agenda led especially by the United Nations (UN) for gender equality, the feminist movement and epistemological and analytical critique of feminism towards androcentric scientific and academic institutions and the development of international agenda led especially by the United Nations (UN) for gender equality. I also discuss the place and the position of Gender and Women's Studies concerning the responsive attitude by the government in Turkey and comment on the self-assessment and reflect on the prospects for the future.