Early Republican Era Research Articles

Adapting Western management practices: the rationalization and Taylorization of Turkish state monopolies in early republican Turkey (1933–1950)

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the introduction of rationalist concepts through Taylorization to Turkey during the early republican era, using Wallace Clark’s case of the Turkish State Monopolies.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a historical narrative approach to explore the roles of foreign experts in the transfer of rationalist and Taylorist ideas to Turkish State Monopolies (Inhisarlar Idaresi).FindingsThis study illuminates the introduction and adoption of Taylorist principles in early republican Turkey through multiple lenses. First, it underscores the era’s fervent drive for rapid modernization, rooted in emulation of Western models perceived as progressive. Second, using a historical narrative approach, this research highlights the pivotal role of foreign expertise in catalyzing and formalizing rationalization efforts.Originality/valueThis study makes a unique and meaningful contribution to the history of management in terms of demonstrating the international influence of the Scientific Management Movement through the neglected case of Turkey.

Making the Modern Turkish Citizen: Vernacular Photography in the Early Republican Era

Making the Modern Turkish Citizen: Vernacular Photography in the Early Republican Era

Colonial Island Enclave and Discourses of Urban Modernization in Guangzhou, China

This article traces Guangzhou’s urban modernization in the late-Qing and early-Republican eras, with an emphasis on official and public discourses. Focus is placed on interactions between the colonial island enclave of Shamian, separated from the mainland by the Shaji Canal, and the Changdi waterfront that was built on the mainland as a Chinese reaction to the foreign island. Shamian and its Bund exhibited a Western urban modernity that prompted both admiration and anticolonial sentiment in the wider Chinese community. Guangzhou’s government reacted to developments on Shamian by constructing Changdi as a modern waterfront district on the north shore of the Pearl River, opposite Shamian. Discourses of urban modernization evolved and underwent cross-cultural exchange throughout. This article takes an island studies approach to analyze the spatial and discursive coproduction of the geographically restricted nearshore island as a colonial enclave and the vast Chinese mainland city striving for self-determination and urban modernization.

Neither nationalism nor neo-Ottomanism but the winner is neo-liberal consumerism? Arts of the past

ABSTRACT In Turkish cultural history, there is an uninterrupted continuity in the education of the Traditional Turkish Arts (TTA), with clear links to the Ottoman past and Islam. This article discusses how TTA were preserved and incorporated into the educational curriculum in the early Republican era, despite discourses that established a direct disengagement between the Republican nationalist project and the Ottoman past. Turning then to the dissemination of TTA under the AKP’s rule as a reflection of neo-Ottomanism as a multi-faceted strategy, this article reveals their overlap with neo-liberal policies that bring about their commodification.

The persistence of anti-Protestant policies from the Fascist period in post-World War II Italy: ideologies, practices and legislation

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to examine the continuities between Fascist Italy and the early republican period in terms of anti-Protestant policy. To this end, it analyses three main issues: the ideology behind Catholic anti-Protestantism and the role played by Catholic hierarchies and Holy See itself; Italian legislation and norms in religious matters, with reference to minority denominations; and the concrete attitudes of State organs at central and peripheral levels. Drawing on extensive archival documentation (from Italian, Vatican and international archives), this article shows the profound continuities, but also the differences, in anti-Protestant legislation and practice between Fascist period and the early Republican era, marked by a strong Catholic and Christian-Democrat hegemony. Thanks to this extensive documentation, this article highlights the role played by various State actors (government, central ministerial apparatuses, local administrations, judiciary) in determining the contrasting side-lining of anti-Protestant policies, which took place in the mid-fifties.

Literature and the legacy of Empire: Approaching Turkey’s post-imperial condition through Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar

How does literature engage with the legacies of Empire? This article examines how imperial decline and nation building are reflected in textual production after the First World War. With Turkey as a case study, it focuses on the post-imperial narrative as a form of narration dealing with the experience of imperial loss, political contingency and possibilities of national belonging. I argue that Turkey’s post-imperial condition is shaped by coming to terms with the loss of the Ottoman Empire, on the one hand, and a nationalising present embedded in the experience of Western-dominated modernity, on the other. Against this backdrop, I examine essays from the compilations Yaşadığım Gibi (1970, ‘As I lived’) and Beş Şehir (1946, ‘Five Cities’) by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, a key intellectual of the early republican era. The analysis of these post-imperial narratives reveals how Tanpınar tries to root Turkey’s national modernity in selected elements of the imperial past. For Tanpınar, continuity with (Turkified) imperial heritage is a prerequisite for a strong nation-state.

Negotiating Values: Diyanet and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

If during the early Republican era migration was a controlled process serving nation-building, the on-going Syrian refugee crisis has reasserted, and, in the meantime, challenged Turkish national identity. This paper analyzes Diyanet’s religious narratives regarding the Syrian refugee crisis, its role in legitimizing the government’s refugee policy and the arising tensions between humanistic Islamic values and nationalism faced by the institution. Methodologically, I primarily relied on the content analysis of the Friday sermons released by Diyanet between 2011 and 2018.

A Evaluation on the Turkish Economic Congress and Economic Policies of The Early Republican Era (1923-1929)

Bu çalışmada, 1923 yılında İzmir'de gerçekleştirilen Türkiye İktisat Kongresi ve 1923-1929 döneminde tesis edilen iktisat politikaları incelenerek, erken cumhuriyetin çalışmaya konu olan dönemi boyunca uygulanan politikaların niteliğine dair bir değerlendirme yapılması amaçlanmıştır. Bulgular, Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı Cumhuriyet Arşivi (BCA) ve Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Arşivi’nde bulunan belgeler ile resmi istatistik ve resmi gazete kayıtlarından oluşan birincil kaynaklar ve telif/inceleme eserlerin oluşturduğu çeşitli ikincil kaynakların incelenmesiyle elde edilmiştir. Çalışmanın ulaştığı temel sonuç, Türkiye İktisat Kongresi ve kongre sonrası dönemde uygulanan iktisat politikalarının liberal bir niteliğe sahip olmadığı ve 1930’la başlayan devletçilik dönemine ait iktisadi politikaların, 1923-1929 arasında uygulanan liberal politikaların başarısızlığı sonucunda tesis edilmediğidir.

From amorous histories to sexual histories: rethinking male love narrative in Ming and Qing dynasties and the discourse on homosexuality in modern China

ABSTRACT “Amorous histories” represent an unofficial historical tradition that once served as a legitimate mechanism for narrating same-sex desire in Chinese culture. This tradition not only celebrated love (qing) but also explored obsession (pi) within the Chinese context. This article reexamines the erotic arts, including notes and erotic fictions, that constituted the narrative mechanism of amorous histories to rethink the intricate stance of both praise and critique towards male love during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The analysis reveals how these texts repeatedly employed a narrative tactic of combining enticement and moral suasion to represent male love. While legitimizing male love, these representations were simultaneously regulated by the moral norms of official histories. However, during the late Qing and early Republican era, the tradition of amorous histories began to wane and eventually gave way to the emergence of pathological narratives under the guise of “sexual histories” in modern China. Within the discourse of sexual histories, the tradition of praising qing and pi was substituted by Western-influenced “the science of sexuality,” which pathologized same-sex desire. This article traces the changes in the meaning of “pi,” which underwent a phase of non-pathologized development in Ming and Qing dynasties, before being pathologized by May 4th literati. Finally, this article analyses the impact of the replacement of amorous histories with pathologized sexual histories on the debates over homosexuality between Hu Qiuyuan and Yang Youtian in modern China. It shows how changes in historical narratives influenced early twentieth century perceptions of same-sex desire.

Considering Kemalist secularization process through the eyes of the ordinary

ABSTRACT While the dominant narrative of Turkey's secularism process is discussed in terms of the Kemalist leadership’s regulation of social life in a top-down manner, this article focuses on the practices of religious organizations in the early Republican era by examining secularism through the everyday practices of the ‘ordinary’ people and relying upon oral history. In recent years, studies considering the social dynamics of this era have included more critical approaches that challenge the dominant understanding by focusing on practices excluded from centralized power control. This has allowed for a more critical approach to the arguments claiming that Kemalist cadres successfully achieved social transformation. With this impetus, this study aims to demonstrate the flexible appearances of power struggles and develops an approach examining both social relations and local dynamics by considering micro and macro perspectives.

Making the Modern Turkish Citizen: Vernacular Photography in the Early Republican Era , by Ozge Baykan Calafato

Making the Modern Turkish Citizen: Vernacular Photography in the Early Republican Era , by Ozge Baykan Calafato

A Lefebvrian Perspective on Turkish Modernization, Everyday Life, and Cinema Relationship in the Early Republican Era

Sinema görsel ve işitsel anlamda etki gücü yüksek; tutum ve davranışların yerleşmesinde etkili bir sanat formudur. Erken Cumhuriyet olarak kabul edilen, Cumhuriyetin ilanından 1950 yılına kadar geçen süre devrimlerle birlikte gündelik hayat içerisinde köklü dönüşümlerin yaşanması açısından önemli bir zaman dilimine karşılık gelmektedir. Bu bakımdan, gündelik hayat pratiklerinde gerçekleşen bu devrimci yaklaşımın yaşandığı dönemde sinemanın edindiği yeri açığa çıkarmak bu çalışmanın temel amacını oluşturmaktadır. Bu amaca ulaşmak adına öncelikli olarak, dönemin ruhunu oluşturan Türk modernleşmesine gündelik hayat çerçevesinden bir bakış yerleştirilmiştir. Ardından, dönemin kurucularının sinemaya ilişkin tutumuna yer verilerek çalışmanın tarihsel bağlamı konumlandırılmıştır. Erken Cumhuriyet döneminde sinema ve gündelik hayat ilişkisini açığa çıkarabilmek için iki yönlü bir sorgulama gerçekleştirilmiştir. Birincil olarak, fiziki bir mekân olarak sinemanın ve seyir pratiklerinin gündelik hayat içerisindeki yeri, ikincil olarak sinemada seyri gerçekleşen anlatılar dolayısıyla gündelik hayata yansıyanlar ve bu yansımaların kamusal etkileri. Çalışma kapsamında gündelik hayat kavramı Lefebvreci anlamıyla ele alınırken sinemanın yeri ve anlatılarının gündelik hayatla ilişkisi ise ideolojik analiz yöntemi tasarımı kullanılarak irdelenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, sinemanın modernleşme adımlarının atıldığı bu dönemde devlet destekli bir proje olarak yürütülmemesine karşın gündelik hayattaki değişimlerin gerçekleşmesinde önemli bir etkiye sahip olduğu tespitine varılmıştır.

The issue of labour force in concessionary companies in the early republican era: liquidation of foreign and non-Muslim labour

Osmanlı döneminde elde ettikleri imtiyazlarla kamusal hizmet alanlarına yatırım yapan yabancı şirketlerin imtiyaz statüsü, Türk Kurtuluş Savaşı sonrasında da gündemde kalmaya devam etmiştir. Henüz Cumhuriyet ilan edilmeden Lozan görüşmeleri sırasında başlayan görüşmeler, TBMM hükümeti ile İmtiyazlı şirketler arasında yapılan ikili antlaşmalarla yabancı ve gayrimüslim personelin Müslüman-Türklerle ikame edilmesi şartıyla çözüme kavuşturulsa da dönüşüm süreci, çeşitli nedenlerle 1930’lara kadar devam etmiştir.
 Bu çalışmada hükümetin yabancılara ve gayrimüslimlere yönelik tutumunun nedenlerinin analiz edilmesi hedeflenmiş ve tarihsel deneyimlerden kaynaklanan güvensizlik korkularının etkili olduğunu savunmaktadır. Cumhuriyet döneminde ulus inşa sürecinin bir parçası olarak yorumlanan bu politikalarda başta yabancılar olmak üzere gayrimüslim işgücünün tasfiyesi hedeflenmiştir. Ekonomide Türkleştirme olarak okunan tasfiye süreci, toplumsal ve ekonomik yapıda daha kırılgan olan emek faktörü üzerinden planlanırken sermayeye yönelik tavır ise daha farklı olmuştur.
 Arşiv belgelerinin incelenmesi suretiyle yapılan bu araştırmada konuyla alakalı literatür de değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmada imtiyazlı şirketlerle hükümet arasındaki yazışmalara istinaden sürecin ilerleyişi takip edilmiş ve sorun alanları tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Araştırma, sadece imtiyazlı şirket olarak tasnif edilen, belediyelerle ya da devletle yapılan sözleşmelere istinaden kamusal hizmet üreten şirketlerle sınırlandırılmıştır. Uzun ve tartışmalı bir sürecin sonunda gayrimüslim ve ecnebi işgücünün büyük ölçüde tasfiye edildiği bu dönemde mütecanis bir ulus oluşturma yönünde önemli merhaleler katedilmiştir.

From sacred to secular: A study of the transformation in spatial functions of modern Confucian temples (1906–1937)

In traditional China, Confucian temples (孔廟 Kongmiao) were sacred spaces with the main functions of offering sacrifices. In the late Qing and early Republican era, even though the sacrificial functions of Confucian temples were extended through the changing regimes and systems, their sacred nature was weakened. During the mid- to late-period of the Beijing government, as the degree to which those in power venerated and worshiped Confucius weakened and modernization advanced, the tendency toward the functional secularization of Confucian temples became increasingly apparent. This was centrally manifested as the formalization of sacrificial functions and assumption of social and education functions. After the establishment of the national government in Nanjing, out of the need for nation-state building, Confucian temples took on multiple functions of modern commemoration, political propaganda, school building, and cultural and historical site building. As different entities had different expectations for the roles that Confucian temples would play during different periods, their actual functions clearly deviated from and missed those stipulated by official documents. Many difficult to reconcile appeals for reform or continuation, for development or conservation joined together in the space of Confucian temples, making it so their spaces could not develop along a linear mode of “traditional-modern.” The course of Confucian temples “turning from sacred to secular” reflects not only the difficulty of transforming Confucianism but also the complex political-cultural ecology of modern China.

Geç Osmanlı Dönemi̇ ve Erken Cumhuri̇yet Dönemi̇ Arasında Yayımlanan Türkçe Gazeteleri̇n Di̇l Anali̇zi

The aim of this work is to investigate the evolution of the Turkish language through an analysis of the newspapers’ articles published between the Late Ottoman and the Early Turkish Republican Eras. To conduct this analysis, this work focuses on the etymology of words used in the newspapers’ articles. We decided to focus on newspapers for two main reasons. On the one hand, press emerged in the Turkish cultural context with the aim to inform people about subjects of public interest (e.g., politics, economy, culture). Consequently, newspapers needed to adopt a language register that could be understood by a wide audience. On the other hand, we decided to focus on the language of newspapers since the latter represent one of the most effective means through which language spreads among speakers. Concerning this matter, we analyzed articles from newspapers published in the Late Ottoman Era such as Tasvir-i Efkâr, İkdam and Tercüman-ı Hakikat, as well as others from the Early Republican Era such as Cumhuriyet, Akşam and Milliyet. Articles included in this analysis were published between 1864 and 1936. Through the analysis of these examples, the scope of this work is to find an answer to the question on whether there are common features in Turkish language between the Late Ottoman and the Early Republican Eras. Moreover, this paper aims to understand the impact of the language reform on the evolution of Turkish.

Preparation for total war: ‘Military Service Preparation Camps’ in the Turkish education system in the early Republican Era (1926–1946)

Since the early nineteenth century, various ideologies have attempted to design education systems with an abundance of military attitudes for the future of the state and society, thereby benefiting paramilitary organizations and incorporating military educational practices into public education environments. In the aftermath of the two world wars, numerous countries, particularly nation-states, embraced the concept of militarised education systems. The incorporation of military methods into education dates back to the late Ottoman Period (after 1913). Following the establishment of the Republic in 1923, military courses were incorporated into the education curricula with the purpose of preparing the youth to confront the potential threats of war, fulfil security needs, and safeguard the homeland. After 1927, in addition to the theoretical courses, Military Service Preparation Camps were implemented. A decade later, this military camp approach was extended to all levels of education. As a result, the education system was transformed into learning environments where basic military skills and knowledge were taught. In this article, Military Service Preparation Camps, which were effectively implemented in the Turkish education system between 1926 and 1946, were investigated based on the primary sources and the recollections of individuals who actively participated in these camps. The primary objective of the military training camps, supervised and coordinated by the General Staff, was to ‘prepare youth for homeland defence and total war, and to promote military service’. In this vein, this study seeks to unveil the impacts of rigorous military training on Turkish society, particularly in the post-1945 era.

Károly Kós in Istanbul

AbstractKároly Kós, a pioneering master of 20th century Hungarian architecture, spent two years in Istanbul as a fellow of the newly established Hungarian Institute for Science in Constantinople between 1916 and 1917 to pursue research on the architecture of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, he created a whole series of drawings of numerous Byzantine and Ottoman historical buildings and street sections. A volume entitled Istanbul - Urban History and Architecture was published as a summary of his research. However, this historical event and the resulting publication have a far-reaching significance beyond themselves in many ways. Firstly, the aforementioned period was a significant turning point in Ottoman-Turkish architectural history. On the other hand, Kós's work is more than just an analysis of architectural and urban history.This paper aims to provide an insight into the period and the turning point between the late Ottoman and the early Republican era of Turkey's history; the local context of Kós's activities in Istanbul and, at also to analyse the architectural-historical achievements of the Hungarian master's work in the location which he himself described as ‘The City”.

A Dilemma: Women in Turkish Sport News Amidst Modernization and Traditionalism

This study demonstrates how Turkey’s first two female athletes, Halet Çambel and Suat Fetgeri Aşeni, served to promote policies of a new modern woman image in the Olympic games during the early republican period. Çambel and Aşeni, Olympians in the fencing competition at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, were the most accomplished Turkish female athletes. Review of the daily newspapers and sports magazines of the period has allowed identification of the modern women’s policy of the early republican period and the performance styles of the two athletes in the Olympics. The daily newspapers Tan, Ulus, Haber, Açık Söz, Akşam, Son Posta, Yeni Asır and Cumhuriyet from 1 August to 31 August 1936, as well as the periodicals of the sports magazines Top and Türk Spor Kurumu from 1 July to 30 September 1936, were reviewed for this purpose. As a result, the female Olympians appeared to receive merely coverage in sports bulletins as anticipated by the early republican era’s modern women’s policies. This endeavour, however, parallels the policies of the early republican period, which sought to retain a women’s image that preserved their traditional identity within the nation-state.

Yuan Shikai and the Restoration of Tianjin at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

As one of the most controversial historical figures in modern Chinese history, Yuan Shikai has attracted considerable scholarly attention in recent decades. While Yuan’s diplomatic activity during his presidency of the early Republican era has been well studied, his earlier diplomatic activity during the late Qing period has not received much scholarly discussions in the English-language historiography. This article examines how Yuan negotiated with various imperialist powers over the restoration of Tianjin, as well as over the creation of foreign concessions in the city, at the turn of the twentieth century. It reveals Yuan’s distinctive diplomatic strategies while highlighting his way of positioning himself at the intersection of multiple nodes of power. It argues that Yuan Shikai’s diplomatic maneuvering played an indispensable role in the transformation of Tianjin from a city governed by a colonial administration to a Chinese city with multiple foreign concessions.

戲劇社會教育之功效與藝術本質之思辨———民國初年劇作家韓補庵的戲劇觀及其編劇理論

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 清末民初的戲劇改良運動，强調戲劇本身的教化功能，主要希冀透過戲劇而達到開啓民智、移風易俗的效果。而後紛紛出現各種組織進行相關活動，然而均未能長久持續，以致改良並未呈現具體的成效。民國以後，政府逐一規劃管理戲劇行業與政策相關部門，將其納入社會教育·通俗教育機構，同時嘗試將戲劇改良的理念轉爲政策透過教育機構執行。天津地區在1915年成立社會教育辦事處，此爲統括並監督通俗教育的機關，其下有藝曲改良社及藝劇研究社，屬於推行戲劇改良的組織。民國初年劇作家韓補庵（1877-1947）曾任藝曲改良社的社長，亦擔任社會教育辦事處的機關報《社會教育星期報》的主編，其身分與經歷，促使他將戲劇視爲落實社會教育的方法之一，專注於實踐。曾創作多齣新編戲劇，1921年出版的編劇理論專文《編戲贅言》，1924年出版了戲劇學專書《補庵談戲》。補庵是民初少見理論與創作並行的劇作家，他的時代正好歷經新興戲劇表演形式的盛衰發展及五四新文化運動。不放棄舊有的戲劇形式，努力思索如何對傳統戲劇藝術進行改革，採取“半新半舊派”的演出形式，並提出明確的戲劇觀及務實的編劇理論，這一嘗試歷程，别具時代意義。
 The drama reform movement in the late Qing and early Republican era laid emphasis on the didactic function of drama, aiming to enlighten people’s minds and transform social customs. Subsequently, various organizations emerged with related activities even though none lasted long. As a result, the reform movement did not achieve any substantial outcome. After the establishment of the Republic, the government set up offices one by one and established regulations to manage and monitor the drama profession to incorporate it in organizations of social education and popular education, attempting to turn the ideas of drama reform into policies to be implemented by educational organizations. The Drama Reform Society and Opera Research Society were organizations that promoted drama reform. Han Bu’an (1877-1947), a dramatist of the early Republican years, was the director of the Drama Reform Society. He also served as the editor-in-chief of Social Education Weekly, the official publication of the Office of Social Education. His status and experience allowed him to see drama as a way of putting social education in practical implementation. Han authored many new opera scripts. In 1921, he wrote the theoretical treatise “Superfluous Remarks on Opera Writing”; and in 1924, he published a monograph entitled Bu’an on Drama. He was one of the few dramatists in early Republican years who combined theoretic discussion and creation. His active years saw the intersection between the rise and fall of the new drama forms and the May Fourth New Cultural Movement. Without giving up the traditional drama forms, he dedicated himself to exploring how to reform the traditional art of drama by adopting a hybrid performing style of “half new and half old,” and by putting forward a clear view of drama and practical script-writing theory. His efforts hold particular historical significance.