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Republican Turkey and “Feminism”
This season, the Making of Modern Turkey seminars focus on the various “isms” that left their mark on the first half of the 20th century and on their positive or negative impact on Republican Turkey. On Saturday, March 18, at 2:30 p.m., the Museum hosts Prof. Fatmagül Berktay, from the Faculty of Political Science at Istanbul University, with a presentation on “Feminism.”
“The evolution of feminism in the west was replicated, though with a time lag, in Ottoman society,” explains Prof. Berktay. “An important characteristic of Ottoman feminism was its connection to nationalism. When Ottoman women followed in the footsteps of their western counterparts to demand more rights and, in particular, the right to education and the political privileges that went with it, their argument was that they were due these rights as the ‘mothers of the nation.’ Although this powerful link to nationalism, the founding ideology of the Republic, may have, at times, opened the way for feminism, it also prevented the movement from developing an independent consciousness and method and constituted a mental obstacle to its claims for liberation. Today, in addition to the unresolved tensions between westernization, nationalism and Islam, Turkey must deal with the pressures generated by the demands of identity politics, for the recognition of “otherness.”
Prof. Fatmagül Berktay
 After obtaining her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Ankara, Berktay earned a degree in Women’s Studies from the University of York in the UK. From 1994 to 1995, Berktay, who is actively engaged in the Turkish women’s movement, served as the representative for Turkey in various international organizations including the United Nations and the European Council. She is a founding member of the Economic and Social History Foundation of Turkey, a member of the Association of European Women Political Scientists and a member of the General Board of the Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation. She currently teaches History of Political Thought, Modern Political Ideologies and Democratic Theory in the Faculty of Political Science at Istanbul University, and Feminist Theories in the Women’s Research Center of the same university. She has received Chevening, Fulbright and Salzburg Seminar Grants to pursue her academic research abroad and has participated in a number of international forums.
Her many books and articles published both in Turkey and abroad include, Tek Tanrılı Dinler Karşısında Kadın [“Women and Monotheistic Religions”](Metis, Istanbul, 1996), Women and Religion – A Comparative Perspective (Black Rose Books, Montreal, 1998), Tarihin Cinsiyeti [“The Gender of History”] (Metis, Istanbul, 2003 ), and she has recently edited The Position of Women in Turkey and in the European Union: Achievements, Problems, Prospects (Ka-Der Press, Istanbul, 2004). Prof. Berktay is currently chair of the Department of Political Science at Istanbul University. |
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Voyvoda Street Lectures
Making of Modern Turkey Seminars
Republican Turkey and "Feminsm"
Prof. Fatmagül Berktay
Saturday, March 18, 2006
2:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Free admission
The Ottoman Bank Museum
Bankalar (Voyvoda) Caddesi 35/37
(0212) 334 22 70
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