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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Bilkent University Institutional Repository NEGOTIATING TRADITION, MODERNITY AND IDENTITY IN CONSUMER SPACE: A STUDY OF A SHOPPING MALL AND REVIVED COFFEEHOUSE The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University by ASLI TOKMAN In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION in THE DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA September 2001 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 of Science in Business Administration. Assist. Prof. Dr. Fabian Faurholt Csaba 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 of Science in Business Administration. Assist. Prof. Dr. Ozlem Sandikci 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 of Science in Business Administration. Assist. Prof. Dr. Feyzan Erkip Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences Prof. Kursat Aydogan Director ii ABSTRACT NEGOTIATING TRADITION, MODERNITY AND IDENTITY IN CONSUMER SPACE: A STUDY OF A SHOPPING MALL AND REVIVED COFFEEHOUSE Tokman, Aslı Msc., Department of Management Supervisor: Dr. Fabian Faurholt Csaba September 2001 This thesis explores the meanings consumers give to consuming two social, commercial, and cultural spaces that have predecessors in the Ottomans and that recently have become very popular among young urban modern consumers: the shopping mall and the revived coffeehouse. The predecessors of these two spaces are the covered bazaars and the coffeehouses and the history of these spaces have also been investigated to be able to refer on aspects of traditions and modernity that could be revealed in the research. The ethnographical research on young urban and modern consumers of Akmerkez shopping mall and Misir “revived nargile coffeehouse” has revealed the meanings consumers give to consuming both traditions and modernity in these spaces. Keywords: Consumption, Consumption Spaces, Traditions, Modernity, Shopping Malls, Kapalicarsi, Coffeehouses, Revived Coffeehouses iii ÖZET TÜKETİCİ MEKANINDA GELENEK, MODERNİTE VE KİMLİKLERİN ELE ALINIŞI: BİR ALIŞVERİŞ MERKEZİ VE YENİDEN CANLANDIRILMIŞ KAHVEHANE ÜZERİNE ÇALIŞMA Tokman, Aslı Master, İşletme Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Dr. Fabian Faurholt Csaba Eylül 2001 Bu tezde son yıllarda bilhassa genç, şehirli ve modern tüketiciler arasında çok popüler olmaya başlayan ancak aynı zamanda da Osmanlı kültüründe başarılı örnekleri bulunan iki sosyal, ticari, ve kültürel alanın; alışveriş merkezleri ve kahvehanelerin (yeniden canlandırılmış) tüketimine verilen anlamlar bulunmaya çalışılmıştır. Tüketiciler ve pazarlamacılarla yapılan etnografik araştırmanın bulgularını gelenek ve modernite açısından ele alabilmek için, öncelikle bu iki alanın geçmişteki örnekleri olarak Kapalıçarşı ve kahvehaneler incelenmiştir. Etnografik araştırma sonucunda bu tüketicilerin her iki alanda yaptıkları tüketimden çıkardıkları anlamlar bulunmuş ve bu alanlarda hem geleneklerin hem de modernitelerin tüketilebildiği sonucuna varılmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Tüketim, Tüketim Mekanları, Gelenekler, Modernite, Alışveriş Merkezleri, Kapalıcarşı, Kahvehaneler, Yeniden Canlandırılmış Kahvehaneler iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Fabian Faurholt Csaba for his great help and patience during the whole process of writing this thesis as well as to Dr. Ozlem Sandikci and Dr. Feyzan Erkip for their valuable insights and advices. I also acknowledge here, the great inspiration and guidance Prof. Dr. Guliz Ger has given me from the very beginning. The research owes great gratitude to the management of Mısır Ev Yemekleri, namely Mr. Bulent Yergin, Mr. Tayfun Karahoda and Mr. Umut Saltık and to the managers of Akmerkez Ucgen Bakım Hizmetleri namely, Ms. Zeynep Akdilli and Ms. Ulker Melek, not to mention all of my informants in both research sites. I would also like to mention that it would have been much harder without the generous help of dear Cengiz Cilengiroglu, Kerem Beygo and Eminegul Karababa, who have always been there for me with their never-ending love and support. Lastly I would like to express my gratitude to my dear family to have encouraged me and given all the love and support through the way. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................iii OZET ...........................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.....................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1 CHAPTER II. HISTORY OF COFFEEHOUSES AND COMMERCIAL SPACES..................................................................................5 II.1. History of the Coffeehouse in Istanbul...............................................6 II.1.1. The Social Significance of Coffeehouses ...........................................7 II.1.2. Modernisation of the Coffeehouse....................................................11 II.2. History of the Kapalicarsi and Other Commercial Spaces ...............17 II.2.1. Kapalicarsi ........................................................................................18 II.2.2. Effects of Modernisation on Kapalicarsi ..........................................24 II.2.3. The Kapalicarsi and Other Commercial Spaces during the Republic...........................................................................25 CHAPTER III. TRADITIONS AND MODERNITY............................................27 III.1. The Turkish Modernity and Modern Consumer Culture..................28 III.2. Tradition ...........................................................................................33 III.3. Detraditionalization versus Coexistence of Modernity and Traditions..........................................................................................35 III.4. Consuming Traditions......................................................................41 CHAPTER IV. SPACES OF CONSUMPTION AND CONSUMPTION OF SOCIAL SPACES.............................................................................................47 IV.1. Consuming Social Distinctions in Spaces of Consumption .............50 IV.2. Consuming Identities in Spaces of Consumption.............................52 IV.3. Producing and Consuming Meanings in Spaces of Consumption ................................................................59 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER V. THE RESEARCH..........................................................................65 V.1. Methodology.....................................................................................65 V.2. Methods ............................................................................................67 V.2.1. Participant Observations and In-depth Interviews............................68 V.2.1.1. Informants.........................................................................................71 V.2.1.2. Sites...................................................................................................73 V.2.2 Non-participant Observations and Visuals .......................................78 V.3. Analysis and Interpretation...............................................................79 V.3.1. Misir Ev Yemekleri: From Promoting the “Turkish Pizza” to the “Revived Coffeehouse” ....................................................................79 V.3.2. “Displaced” Meanings Replaced: The Meanings of Consumption in Coffeehouses.....................................................................................83 V.3.3. Producing and Communicating “The Award Winning Akmerkez”102 V.3.4. Consuming and Decoding Akmerkez.............................................109 CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION ...........................................................................127 VI.1. Modernity and Traditions Coexisting in Consumption ..................127 VI.2. Concluding remarks........................................................................135 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................137 APPENDICES APPENDIX I Misir Informants.......................................................................146 APPENDIX 2 Akmerkez Informants..............................................................147 APPENDIX 3 Visuals .....................................................................................148 vii CHAPTER I I.INTRODUCTION This thesis is about how meanings are produced, negotiated and consumed by both marketers and consumers of social consumption spaces. The findings of the research reveal what meanings consumers give to consuming spaces and exhibit to which extent marketers can influence consumption practices. Another contribution of this study is to the “coexistence” debate on modernity and traditions. The research findings suggest that traditions and modernity can co-exist in consumption spaces and practices.