Modern Turkish National Identity in Museums Representation Analysis in Istanbul Museums and Heritage Sector Between 2010-2020
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Modern Turkish National Identity in Museums Representation Analysis in Istanbul Museums and Heritage Sector Between 2010-2020 Lilaf Ajjo Institution of ALM Thesis within museums- & heritage studies ISSN 1651-6079 Master thesis, 30 credits 2021, nr 150. Författare/Author Lilaf Ajjo Svensk titel Det Moderna Turkiska Nationella identiteten i museer. Representationsanalys I turkiska museer mellan 2010– 2020. English Title Modern Turkish National Identity in Museums. Representation Analysis in Turkish Museums Between 2010– 2020 Handledare/Supervisor Inga-Lill Aronsson Abstract The representation of national identity in museums of the 21st century´s diverse and multicultural societies is a challenging task. It is a task that involves questions of narrative and heritage inclusivity as well as questions of power and ideology. This thesis includes an investigation of the representation of the Turkish national identity in two state owned museums, one private museum and two contested heritage sites in Istanbul. Both contested sites were legally transformed from museums to mosques in 2020. The investigation also involves questions of power and legitimacy in the Turkish heritage sector in the past decade. Qualitative methods including observations, grounded theory initial coding, exhibition spatial syntax analysis and objects´ value analysis are used in the research. The analysis results revealed a fragmentation in the Turkish national identity representation and in the power structure of the Turkish heritage sector where different key actors are involved in national identity production and representation. The History narrative represented is linear and fragmented where each selected museum presents a different historical period with an emphasis on the multicultural nature of the region historically. Ideology and the heritage policy analysis has revealed that the Turkish heritage sector is heading towards an Ottoman based ideology instead of the secular Kemalism ideology that had built the modern Turkish national identity since the establishment of the republic in 1923. The results show that the challenge of representing inclusive and sustainable heritage and national identities in multicultural societies is complex. However, to achieve that, museums and heritage sectors would have to adopt policies of recognition and civil society involvement. The state would have to take an architect role by funding the museum and heritage sector without interfering in museum´s function. This is a two years master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. Abstract på svenska Representationen av nationella identiteter i museerna av 2000-talets mångkulturella samhälle är en utmanande uppgift. En uppgift som involverar frågor om integration, nationellt kulturarv och narrative inkludering samt frågor om makt och ideologi. Denna uppsats omfattar en undersökning av den turkiska nationella identitetsrepresentationen i två statliga museer och ett privat museum samt två omtvistade kulturarv i Istanbul. De två omtvistade platserna omvandlandes från museer till moskéer år 2020. Undersökningen omfattar också frågor om makt och legitimitet inom den turkiska kulturarvssektorn med fokus på det senaste decenniet. Kvalitativa metoder inklusive observationer, grundad teorins kodning, rumslig syntaxanalys och objekts analys används i forskningen. Analysresultaten avslöjade fragmenteringen av den turkiska nationella identitetsrepresentationen och maktstrukturen i den turkiska kulturarvssektorn där olika nyckelaktörer är involverade i representationen och produktionen av det turkiska nationella identitet. Det historienarrative som är representerat är linjärt och fragmenterad där varje utvalt museum presenterar en specifik historisk period med fokus på regionens mångkulturella historia. Ideologi och kulturarvspolitikanalysen har avslöjat att den turkiska kulturarvssektorn är på väg mot en ottomansk baserad ideologi i stället för den sekulära Kemalism-ideologin som byggde den moderna turkiska nationella identiteten sedan republiken grundades år 1923. Resultaten visar att utmaningen att representera inkluderande och hållbara kulturarv och nationella identiteter i multikulturella samhällen är komplex. För att uppnå detta måste emellertid museer och kulturarvssektorer överväga erkännandepolitik samt civilsamhällets-engagemangspolitik och staten måste ta en arkitektroll genom att finansiera museets och kulturarvssektorn med ett armslängdavstånd. Detta är ett tvåårigt examensarbete i Museum och kulturarvsvetenskap studier. Ämnesord Nationell identitet, Turkiet, nationella museer, folkrepresentation, makt, kollektivt minne. Key words National identity, Turkey, National identity representation, Power, Narrative representation, Heritage use. 2 Table of Content 1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 5 1.1. Aim and Research Questions .................................................................... 6 1.2. Scientific Relevance ................................................................................. 7 1.3. Disposition ................................................................................................ 7 2. Previous Research ............................................................................ 8 3. Starting Points and Definitions ..................................................... 12 3.1. Museums and History of National Identity in Museums ........................ 12 3.2. Collective and National Identity ............................................................. 13 4. Theoretical Framework ................................................................. 16 4.1. Materiality and Representation Analysis ................................................ 16 4.2. The Politics of Museums ........................................................................ 17 4.2.1. Museum and Power ..................................................................................... 17 4.2.2. Museum and Ideology ................................................................................. 18 4.2.3. Museum and Legitimacy ............................................................................. 19 4.2.4. Museum and Rationality ............................................................................. 19 5. Methodology ................................................................................... 21 5.1. Sampling the Material ............................................................................. 21 5.2. Analysis Methodology ............................................................................ 22 5.3. The Selected Museums ........................................................................... 22 5.3.1. Topkapi Palace museum .............................................................................. 23 5.3.2. Museum of Archaeology ............................................................................. 23 5.3.3. Istanbul´s Museum of Modern Art .............................................................. 24 5.3.4. Contested Heritage Sites in Turkey 2020 .................................................... 24 6. Turkish National identity and National Museums: Historical Background ..................................................................................... 26 7. Material and Analysis .................................................................... 29 7.1. The Turkish Museum Laws .................................................................... 29 5.1.2. Museum Law Analysis .................................................................................... 31 7.2. National Identity Represented in the Topkapi Palace Museum .............. 32 7.2.1. Object Selection .......................................................................................... 34 7.2.2. Object Analysis ........................................................................................... 36 7.2.3. Text Analysis ............................................................................................... 37 7.2.4. Power Analysis ............................................................................................ 38 7.3. National Identity Represented in the Museum of Archaeology. ............. 40 7.3.1. Object Selection .......................................................................................... 41 7.3.2. Object Analysis ........................................................................................... 42 7.3.3. Text Analysis ............................................................................................... 44 7.3.4. Power Analysis ............................................................................................ 45 7.4. National Identity Presented in Istanbul Modern Art Museum ................ 46 7.4.1. Object Selection .......................................................................................... 47 7.4.2. Object Analysis ........................................................................................... 48 7.4.3. Text Analysis ............................................................................................... 50 7.4.4. Power Analysis ............................................................................................ 51 7.5. Contested heritage sites in Turkey in 2020 ............................................. 53 7.5.1. Hagia Sofia Site ........................................................................................... 54 7.5.2. Chora Church/ Kariye Museum