Feminist/ Nationalist Discourse in the First Year of the Ottoman Revolutionary Press (1908-1909): Readings from the Magazines of Demet, Mehasin and Kadin (Salonica)
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FEMINIST/ NATIONALIST DISCOURSE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE OTTOMAN REVOLUTIONARY PRESS (1908-1909): READINGS FROM THE MAGAZINES OF DEMET, MEHASIN AND KADIN (SALONICA) The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by TÜLAY KESKİN In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA SEPTEMBER 2003 iii I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History ____________________________ Prof. Stanford J. Shaw Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History ____________________________ Associate Prof. Nur Bilge Criss Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History ____________________________ Dr. Eugenia Kermeli Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Science ____________________________ Prof. Kürşat Aydoğan Director iv To Calkan v ABSTRACT Feminist/ Nationalist Discourse in the First Year of Ottoman Revolutionary Press: Readings from the Magazines Demet, Mehasin and Kadın (Salonica) This paper examines the emergence of a Feminist discourse and its evolution alongside with Turkish nationalism in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the Ottoman revolutionary press by focusing on the readings of Demet, Mehasin and Kadın, which appeared after the 1908 Revolution and provided an early debate for discussion of women’s rights in the context of the Turkist movement. This paper reveals the aspirations and forces, which shaped early Turkist feminist discourse and the way in which it contributed to the construction of “the new image of the Turkish woman”. Nationalism elevated women’s roles as mothers and wives and the emergence of a self-sacrificing, de-sexualized, patriotic image for women. Key Words: Periodical Press, Women’s Periodicals, Nationalism, and Ottoman Empire iii ÖZET Osmanlı Devrimci Basının İlk Yılında Feminist/Milliyetçi Söylem (1908-1909): Demet, Mehasin ve Kadın (Salonica) Dergilerinden Metinler Bu tez, 1908 Devrimi sonrası Türkist hareket bağlamında Kadın hakları tartışmasının başlamasına ilk ortamı oluşturan Demet, Mehasin ve Kadın dergilerine odaklanarak 19. yüzyıl sonlarında ve 20. yüzyılda Osmanlı devrimci basınındaki feminist söylemin ortaya çıkışını ve Türk milliyetçiliği yanındaki evrimini incelemektedir. Bu çalışmada, erken Türkist feminist söylemi şekillendiren istek ve güçler ile bunun ‘Yeni Türk Kadını’nın görüntüsünün inşasına olan katkıları ortaya çıkarılmaktadır. Milliyetçilik, Kadının anne ve eş rollerini, ve özverili, cinsel kimliğinden sıyrılmış, vatansever görünümünü yüceltmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Süreli Yayınlar, Kadın Dergileri, Milliyetçilik, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Stanford J. Shaw for his guidance, patience and encouragement in my studies. I am grateful to Prof. Carter V. Findley for providing me the photocopy of the Ayfer Karakaya’s M.A thesis and Associate Prof. Kemal Sılay for their support and invaluable comments. I also want to express my gratitude to M. Simon Braune for his incredible patience and for the constant intellectual and personal support he has given me during the preparation of this thesis. I am also indebted to my friends Deren Ercoşkun, Ferişte Baykan, Yunus Ergin Zeytuncu, Nilay Özer, Eymen Atalay and Erdal Çoban. I wish to make a particular expression of gratitude to my sister, Gülay Keskin for her help in translation and to other family members for their continuous moral support. Finally, I would like to thank the employees of the Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkezi Vakfı and also Bilkent University for providing the necessary primary sources. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................iii ÖZET ............................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION: Periodical Press in Historiography .................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: EMERGENCE OF PERIODICALS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE QUESTION OF WOMEN........................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO: PERIODICALS DURING THE 1908 REVOLUTION .................. 22 I. Sırat-i Mustakim .......................................................................................... 27 II. Beyan’ül-Hak ............................................................................................... 29 III. Genç Kalemler ............................................................................................ 31 IV. Turkish Foundation ...................................................................................... 33 V. Assessment of Periodicals During 1908 ...................................................... 34 CHAPTER THREE: EARLY WOMEN’S PERIODICALS IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE ......................................................................................................................... 36 I. Terakki-i Muhadderat................................................................................... 36 II. Vakit yahud Mürebbi-i Muhadderat............................................................. 38 III. Ayine............................................................................................................ 39 IV. Aile Insaniyet ............................................................................................... 39 V. Hanımlar....................................................................................................... 41 VI. Şüküfezar ..................................................................................................... 41 VII. Mürüvvet...................................................................................................... 42 VIII. Parça Bohçası............................................................................................... 42 IX. Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete ........................................................................... 43 X. Hanımlara Mahsus Malumat........................................................................ 45 XI. Assessment of Women’s Periodicals from Tanzimat to 1908 Revolution .. 46 vi CHAPTER FOUR: WOMEN’S PERIODICALS DURING THE 1908 REVOLUTION.................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................ 49 I. Mefharet ...................................................................................................... 49 II. Demet ........................................................................................................... 50 III. Mehasin........................................................................................................ 67 IV. Kadın............................................................................................................ 76 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 81 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 87 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................... 92 APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................... 96 APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................ 103 vii INTRODUCTION: PERIODICAL PRESS IN HISTORIOGRAPHY Methodological Survey Historians have long since recognized the special value of the periodical press for carrying out research on the recent past. Nineteenth century magazines and newspapers have served as important sources for economic, political and literary histories. The reason for this is that, the periodicals, which were being commonly published starting the eighteenth century, occupied a crucial place in the development of urban industrial societies. Periodicals also have played an important role in the dissemination of information and ideas, in literary history and in the growth of liberal political democracies.1 In this thesis I intend to use Demet, Mehasin and Kadın magazines in the Ottoman Empire to explore how the image of women was constructed from the. I think the best to start this research is to have some methodological background on the subject. For this reason, I propose that we should look at some of the recent studies concerned with the issues of women in relation to magazines. That is, in this part I will make a survey of what has been studied by historians who focused on or used women’s magazines for historical purposes. Periodicals played