“Turkish Humanism Project” in the Early Republican Period
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
“TURKISH HUMANISM PROJECT” IN THE EARLY REPUBLICAN PERIOD A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF THE MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY GÜNEŞ ALTINBAŞ SEREZLİ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY SEPTEMBER, 2006 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science in Sociology. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sibel Kalaycıoğlu Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science in Sociology. Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal Nalbantoğlu Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal Nalbantoğlu (METU, SOC) ________________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdoğan (METU, ADM) ________________________ Dr. Erdoğan Yıldırım (METU, SOC) ________________________ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Güneş Altınbaş Serezli iii ABSTRACT THE “TURKISH HUMANISM PROJECT” IN THE EARLY REPUBLICAN PERIOD Altınbaş Serezli, Güneş Master of Arts, Department of Sociology Supervisor: Prof. Hasan Ünal Nalbantoğlu September 2006, 150 pages This dissertation aims at analyzing the debates among intellectuals concerning humanism, and concurrently designed “Turkish Humanism Project” during the nation/identity-building process in the early decades of Turkey’s Republican Era. During İnönü Era (1938-1950), the nationalism and westernization of Atatürk’s reforms turned into an uncompromising secularism, and consequently humanist culture and “humanism” became the quasi-formal ideology of the state. In order to spread the newly designed cultural policy, then unnamed “Turkish Humanism Project” was developed. The present dissertation starts with debates on humanism among those intellectuals who were influential over the decision of the state to support humanist culture. Following that, it analyzes the three pillars of the project, namely, Greek and Latin lessons in high school curriculum, establishment of the Translation Office, and opening of the Village Institutes, respectively. In the dissertation, the emergence of humanism in the country is discussed in an historical perspective. Moreover, the general understanding of both the intellectuals and the state of humanism as a solution to the problems faced in cultural and national identity-building process and in westernization movement is demonstrated. As that perception evolved into another perception that humanism was now the cure to all kinds of problems in the society, humanism was charged with tasks too burdensome for such a project to accomplish. This evolution is also demonstrated in the dissertation. iv The failure of all three pillars of Turkish Humanism Project is attributed not only to the political turmoil during the period but also to the inability of country’s intellectuals to conceptualize any phenomena in question as well as their turning the project into a “utopian romanticism” in the course of time. Nevertheless, the most important factor behind the failure is defined as the rejection by then existing social structure of a concept to alien Turkish national-being, imposed on the society. While the dissertation aims at revealing the intellectual map of the early Republican intellectuals, it also attempts at making an inventory of the debates about “humanism”, and hence modestly contributes to the existing relevant literature which is insufficient and at times inaccurate. Key Words: Turkish Humanism, Humanism Debates, Translation Office, Village Institutes, Blue Anatolia Humanism. v ÖZ ERKEN CUMHURİYET DÖNEMİNDE “TÜRK HÜMANİZMİ PROJESİ” Altınbaş Serezli, Güneş Yüksek Lisans, Sosyoloji Bölümü Danışman: Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal Nalbantoğlu Eylül 2006, 150 sayfa Bu tez, erken Cumhuriyet Döneminde Türk ulusal/kültürel kimliğinin inşası sürecinde, aydınlar arasında ortaya çıkan hümanizm tartışmalarını ve beraberinde tasarlanan “Türk Hümanizmi Projesi”ni incelemeyi hedeflemiştir. 1938-1950 yılları arasında İnönü Döneminde, Atatürk Devrimlerinin milliyetçilik ve Batıcılık karakteri, tavizsiz bir laikliğe ve hümanist kültüre dönüşmüş, “hümanizm” devletin yarı-resmî ideolojisi olmuştur. Yeni belirlenen kültür politikasının yayılması için adı konmamış bir “Türk Hümanizmi Projesi” geliştirilmiştir. Tezde, hümanist kültürün devlet eliyle desteklenmesini başlatan aydınların hümanizm tartışmalarından yola çıkılmış ve daha sonra Proje’nin üç ayağı olan liselere Yunanca ve Latince dil derslerinin koyulması, Tercüme Bürosu’nun kurulması ve Köy Enstitülerinin açılması çabaları incelenmiştir. Hümanizmin ülkede ilk benimsenmeye başlanması, aydınların ve devletin hümanizmi ülkenin kültürel/ulusal/Batılılaşma kimliğine bir çare olarak görmesi, her türlü sorunun ilacı olarak algılaması ve ona kaldıramayacağı görevler yüklemesi üzerinde durulmuştur. Türk Hümanizmi Projesi’nin üç ayağının da hayal kırıklığı ile sonlanması ise, dönemin siyasi çalkantılarının yanı sıra, ülke aydınlarının kavramsallaştıramama sorununa ve zamanla Proje’nin “ütopik bir romantizm”e dönüştürülmesine ama en önemlisi de Türk milletinin bünyesinde var olmayan bir kavramın, benimsetilmek istendiğinde sosyal yapının bunu reddetmesine bağlanmıştır. Tez, erken Cumhuriyet döneminin aydınlarının düşünce haritasını çıkarmayı amaçlarken, ülkede “hümanizm” kavramı tartışmalarının da bir dökümünü vi yapmayı, bu sayede bu konuda eksik ve yanlış olan literatürün düzeltilmesine ufak da olsa bir katkıda bulunmayı hedeflemiştir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Türk Hümanizmi, Hümanizm Tartışmaları, Tercüme Bürosu, Köy Enstitüleri, Mavi Anadolu Hümanizmi. vii To My Beloved Husband Tuğhan Serezli viii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM…………………………………………………………………….iii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………….iv ÖZ…………………………………………………………………………………vi DEDICATION.……………………..……………………………………………viii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………….ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1 2. HUMANISM 2.1. The Meaning of Humanism...............................................................7 2.2. The Renaissance Humanism..............................................................8 2.3. Ancient Greek Civilization: A Miracle?……….…………….........12 2.4. Homer’s Miracle………………….............................…….……....15 2.5. Humanism and Religion: Some Definitions ………...………........15 2.6. The Meaning of “Humanist”............................................................20 3. HUMANISM IN TURKEY 3.1. Building A “Turkish National Identity”: The Role of Humanism in the 1930s…………………………........22 3.2. The Idea of “Humanism” Before 1938 and Neo-Hellenism............33 3.3. Debates on Humanism ………………………………...…….........40 3.3.1. The Pioneer of the Debates: Burhan Belge’s “The Name of the Graft is Humanism”………………..42 3.3.2. Discovering Oneself Through Humanism: The Journal, Yücel……………………………….….....47 3.3.3. Turkish Renaissance Born: The Journal, İnsan ……………………………….........57 3.3.4. Labour, the People and Society: The Journal, Adımlar ……………………………….....60 3.3.5.The Opposition to Humanism ……....……………........65 3.3.6.The Conclusion Derived From the Debates………........67 ix 4. THE “TURKISH HUMANISM PROJECT” 4.1. The Transformation of “Humanism” into a “Project”….................69 4.2.Classical Languages and Literature in High Schools………….......74 4.3. The Translation Office ……….……………………...………........78 4.4. The Village Institutes ……….………………..……………….......98 5. THE IDEA OF “HUMANISM” AFTER 1950s 5.1. The “Blue Anatolia Humanism”....................................................108 5.2. Revisiting Suat Sinanoğlu’s “Turkish Humanism”…….......….....123 6. CONCLUSION – The End of Humanist Dream...……….…..........…....135 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….........140 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Westernization movement in Turkey which formally started in 1839 with the Tanzimat Period, continues to be a debated issue in stalemate. The reforms, which have been made for over approximately two hundred years all aimed at rebuilding the social and cultural fabric of the Turkish society. Saffet Engin explains how Westernism took root in Turkey. At the beginning of the 1800s, not only European goods and services but also ideas were flowing into the country. Western institutions were being adopted and an intense relationship with the West was developing. The economic relations between Turkey and the West diversified in time into a rigorous social intercourse. In addition to this, from the early years of the 1890s, Turkish students who went to Europe for educational purposes started to return to the country with new ideas and customs as well as their experiences in a different social structure. As the number of such students increased, European ideas, languages, mentality, and the concept of being European penetrated into the country. Afterwards, this European stream gained a national character. Being Turkish, Turkish history, Turkish civilization, and Turkish literature became popular themes as, the idea of modernity and nation-state ascended, and a literature on these issues started to emerge. These modernist currents were going to prepare the ground for the great