Honor Crimes
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HONOR CRIMES AND THE EMBODIMENT OF TURKISH NATIONALISM, 1926-2016 A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Sevin Gallo May, 2016 HONOR CRIMES AND THE EMBODIMENT OF TURKISH NATIONALISM, 1926-2016 Sevin Gallo Dissertation Approved: Accepted: ________________________________ __________________________________ Advisor Department Chair Dr. Janet Klein Dr. Martin Wainwright ________________________________ ___________________________________ Committee Member Dean of the College Dr.TJ Boisseau Interim Dean Dr. John Green ________________________________ ___________________________________ Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Martha Santos Dr. Chand Midha _______________________________ ___________________________________ Committee Member Date Dr. Richard Steigmann-Gall _______________________________ Committee Member Dr. Maria Alejandra Zanetta ii ABSTRACT My dissertation is a world history project that offers an historical perspective for understanding the existence and meaning of honor crimes. I focus on the history of honor-related violence in Turkey, which I contend can only be understood within the international context of twentieth-century modernization, state-formation, and nationalist projects. The Turkish nationalist state initiated an intensive process of modernization beginning in the late 1920s and lasting through the majority of the 20th century. My project examines the impact the nationalist modernization project had on the culture of honor and the existence of honor-related gendered violence, and argues against the ahistorical portrayal of Middle Eastern societies as “backward” bastions of patriarchy. Instead, I propose that honor-related violence has a very specific, yet complex recent history that has as much to do with “modernization” as it does with tradition. Although my project focuses on Turkey, I include a case study of honor crimes as discussed in Brazilian legal codes that were created or preserved by nationalist “modernizing” regimes. This study offers a nuanced historical explanation, on the one hand, of the ways in which the culture of honor and the nationalist state overlapped and often supported one another, and on the other hand, of how nationalist modernizing projects created the environments in which honor crimes tended to proliferate, such as during periods of civil war and in communities that are marginalized due to institutionalized racial, gendered, and ethno-nationalist discrimination. iii DEDICATION For Damian iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project found inspiration and support in rather far flung places and time periods in my life. Coming of age in the 1990s in the wake of the Cold War, I was at once wrapped up with my individual experience with the honor-shame continuum associated with feminine sexuality in the United States and the international focus on ethno- nationalist conflict and the unique experiences of women in war in the Balkans, Guatemala, and the Middle East. I studied electronic media as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati at the turn of the twenty-first century. The potential of the internet and new media was just beginning to be tapped, and the faculty and students engaged in lively discussions of the possibilities and pitfalls of what certainly promised to be a new world. My first-hand experience writing and editing pop-culture news as an entertainment editor for the University of Cincinnati’s student run newspaper, The News Record, gave me a glimpse into the politics of media production. The design editor, then fellow student, now Professor Bill Whetzel, deserves special thanks for broadening my understanding of the importance of artistic representation and responsibility. I saw things more sharply thanks to working with Bill. Charles Little and Carol Helmick: you are a superb humans and I thank you for teaching me. I must thank my oldest friends, Brandy Borden, Lesley Bucey, Kim Caravella, Melissa Corbett, Julie Fitzgerald, Justin Landry Hall, Micah Highfill, Kathleen King, Trisha Linley, Jessica Salfiti, and Amy Schneider. v Your friendship profoundly affected me. I carried all of our conversations and experiences with me to my exploration of history. I studied modernity, nationalism, fascism, foreign relations and race at Kent State University. I would like to sincerely thank Drs. Jennifer Nalmpantis, Kyriakos Nalmpantis, Agyrios Pisiotis, Victor Papacosma, Nikki Brown, Carol Harrison, and member of this dissertation committee, Richard Steigmann-Gall. He along with Drs. Nikki Brown, Jennifer Nalmpantis and Kyri Nalmpantis were very important mentors. The consortium between Kent State and the University of Akron proved to be significant for my intellectual development. While I was finishing my MA at Kent, I learned of a new faculty hire in Middle East history at The University of Akron--Dr. Janet Klein. I read a book chapter of hers concerning nationalism, women, and the late- Otttoman Kurdish press, and I immediately applied to study with her. She continued to be a source for inspiration and intellectual growth throughout my doctoral studies in Akron. She and Drs. TJ Boisseau and Martha Santos were excellent mentors. The impact they have had on my intellectual development cannot be overstated. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to Drs. Martin Wainwright, Shelley Baranowski, Greg Wilson, Constance Bouchard, Steve Harp, Zachery Williams, Lesley Gordon, Michael Graham, Walter Hixson, and Maria Alejandra Zanetta. Dr. Zanetta served as an integral interdisciplinary voice on my dissertation committee. I must make special mention of my friend, the late Sharon Hays. I was privileged to know her. I must additionally thank Kym Rohrbach and Wade Wilcox. vi Special thanks to my graduate colleagues Maurice Labelle, Christine Lober, John Henris, Lavinia Popica, Lauren Mostardi, Stacey Gooseman, Ryan Bixby, Chris Howard, Christa Adams, Judge Ellen Turner, and Özgün Basmaz. Özgün--you are one of the dearest people in my life. This project would not be possible, and it would not have meant nearly as much to me without our years of friendship. Your questions and critiques have truly strengthened this dissertation, not to mention your Turkish language instruction. I also want to express my indebtedness to Nebahat Akkoç and her staff at KAMER in Diyarbakır. You honored me when you took so much time out of your important work to answer my questions and open up your offices for my study. The wonderful staff of the Women’s Library and Research Center (Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkesi Vakfı) in Istanbul assisted me many times over the years. In the beginning when my Turkish was so terrible, they were incredibly kind and patient. Somehow they figured out what I was asking, and I truly appreciate all of their guidance. This dissertation would not have been possible without generous travel grants and fellowships from the University of Akron’s History Department and the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) at Georgetown University. I received a grant from ITS to study Turkish at Boǧaziçi University in Istanbul during the summer of 2008 and a dissertation research fellowship that allowed me to travel to Turkey several times to do archival research and conduct interviews. Thanks to the staff at the Tamara Café in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul who helped me understand some intricacy of Turkish and Kurmanci in 2009, and who introduced me to Özge Özkan—a very dear vii friend. She gave me an important education in Turkish television and film. Alper Tekin-- your music, its story of nationalist population exchange and dreams of alternative histories, is the soundtrack to this work. Dr. Barış Atladı, I am profoundly indebted to you and the Max Plank Institute, where you spent some of your time as a doctoral fellow there using their collection of Turkish legal documents to help me identify important texts for my study. I sincerely appreciate your generosity. Ahmet Alış similarly shared sources and ideas with me and I thank him as well. In 2011 I presented part of this work at the international conference “Honour Killings across Culture and Time” at the Australian National University in Canberra. Thank you, Dr. Carol Strange, for organizing that important event and hosting me on campus. The interdisciplinary presentations and conversations profoundly influenced me. I thank all the participants for their scholarship and activism. I want to personally mention Fernando Serrano Amaya who presented the history of collective violence against sexual minorities in Colombia and Sibel Safis who presented an analysis of religious law and honor killing. Many thanks to Joost Jongerden who sent me comments on a paper that I presented at MESA, which ultimately became a chapter in this dissertation. I must also thank Barış Baştürk and the University of Arkansas Turkish Student Association who helped me improve my Turkish over the past three years. I am indebted to my colleagues at Northwest Arkansas Community College, particularly April Brown, Sabrina Chesne, Matt Evans, Tom Hernstein, Chris Huggard, Jami Forrester, Will Karigomba, Greg Kiser, Dierdre Slavik, Yanik St. Jean, Jerry Vervack, Gene Vinzant, and Kevin Weakly. viii Finally, I must thank my family. My parents, Rick and Cindy, instilled a value for independent thinking and empathy in our family. They deserve so much credit for fostering my commitment to feminist scholarship and teaching. For