Esra Özcan | Tulane University (original) (raw)

Books by Esra Özcan

Mainstreaming the Headscarf: Islamist Politics and Women in the Turkish Media, 2019

Articles by Esra Özcan

Television in Turkey, 2020

In this contribution, I provide an in-depth rhetorical and textual analysis of a television debat... more In this contribution, I provide an in-depth rhetorical and textual analysis of a television debate program broadcast in 2015 on the mainstream television news channel, Habertürk TV in Turkey. The debate brought together women committed to varying political projects, including Kemalism, Islamism, leftist movements, Kurdish women’s movements, and feminism. I find this debate program unique because it took place at a crucial moment in Turkey’s recent history, preceding increasing restrictions on the media that eventually cost more than half of the program participants’ jobs and positions. In my analysis, I focus on how the program’s moderator and the women participants define “women’s issues” in an increasingly authoritarian and conflictual political climate where women are divided with regard to supporting or opposing the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi—AKP) political program. The results of my analysis show that “sisterhood” does not provide common ground for women in a politically polarized environment and women with more political power dominate the conservation.

Özcan explores the similarities between conservative women’s movements in Turkey and the United S... more Özcan explores the similarities between conservative women’s movements in Turkey and the United States. She argues that the designation of conservative women’s activism as “Islamic feminism” in Turkey has eclipsed the similarities between these women and the conservative women’s movements elsewhere. The chapter focuses on how Turkey’s conservative women, so called “Islamic feminists,” have aligned with the authoritarian policies of the Justice and Development Party, supported the elimination of rights and freedoms, and institutionalized anti-feminism. The author suggests that transnational feminist scholarship pays more attention to how networks of conservative women in different parts of the world ally with misogynist men in power and contribute to the marginalization of feminism.

In this paper, I reflect on the use of the term "Islamic feminism" in Turkey from the 1990s to th... more In this paper, I reflect on the use of the term "Islamic feminism" in Turkey from the 1990s to the present. I discuss how Turkey's Islamic feminists who were once the victims and strong critics of secular authoritarianism have now become advocates of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's populist Islamist authoritarianism which has severely restricted rights and freedoms in the country. I claim that using the term "Islamic feminist" in reference to the Islamist women supporters of Erdoğan is misleading as it puts a progressive spin on their ideas and activism.

Introduction to Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Feb 15, 2017

In political and popular media discourse "Muslim woman" has become the prime example of the oppre... more In political and popular media discourse "Muslim woman" has become the prime example of the oppression of women in the world. In a climate where Islam is constantly associated with extremism, violence and oppression of women, this article aims to give the students tools to critically engage with the category of "Muslim woman" and have a nuanced understanding of how we come to know Muslim women and the complexity of this category.

This article compares the visual representations of the female headscarf in Islamic and secular n... more This article compares the visual representations of the female headscarf in Islamic and secular newspapers in Turkey during the 10-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP)). This study is based on a content analysis of all visuals from three election periods (November 2002, July 2007 and June 2011) and two neutral time frames outside of the elections (August 2002 and August 2012). It also includes a qualitative analysis of the news articles that showed pictures of successful women wearing headscarves. The results show that the number of women wearing headscarves increased in both Islamic and secular newspapers between 2002 and 2012. The increase is not only more prominent in Islamic newspapers but the valence attached to headscarves and to the women wearing them is also qualitatively different. This article argues that the Islamic newspapers have created an image of a new ideal conservative woman that ignores the worsening conditions for women in general and AKP's increasingly restrictive gender politics specifically.

Dissertations by Esra Özcan

This study analyses the female and the male visuals in six Turkish newspapers representing differ... more This study analyses the female and the male visuals in six Turkish newspapers representing different socio-political positions. Visual representations shape the ways people perceive the world and they signify the social fabric. Changes in the visualization of the females in particular indicate societal changes taking place. Various previous studies on Turkish press focused either on the question of underrepresentation of women or on a comparative analysis of the religious and secular press with respect to the representation of women based on textual material. Turkish newspapers are very rich in terms of visual material and in terms of the visual depiction of women. The study argues that the exclusion of visuals from such analyses creates a serious shortcoming. Thus, this study aims to expand the previous research with the incorporation of visual analysis. Secondly, as is the case in previous research, approaching secular and religious press as two separate and distinct camps tends to obscure both the similarities between religious and secular newspapers and the differences within secular and within religious newspapers with respect to the depiction of women. Therefore this study aims not only to look at the differences between secular and religious newspapers in Turkey but also at the differences within them in terms of the visual representation of women. In methodological terms quantitative visual content analysis and qualitative iconological and semiological analyses are employed to analyze the characteristics and meanings of the visuals. In theoretical terms selected approaches towards modernity, media, gender and visual communication inform the study.

In this work the aim is to explore the new relationships and combinations between Islam, seculari... more In this work the aim is to explore the new relationships and combinations between Islam, secularism and modernity figuring in the appeal and popularity of a modern theologian, Yaşar Nuri Ozturk. His popularity at a point in time and the discussions centring around him can be used as a reference point to analyse different layers of religious life and its interplay with truXiemity in Turkey. The work is built upon text analysis. The analysis of these discuSsions both point to a historical continuity and testify to the emergence of new Muslim profiles aloog with new approaches in Islam that seek to coexist and cohabit with modernity and modern life preferences. The interrelatedness of this process with nationalism, popular culture and women's position in Islam forms the backbone of this work.

Essays by Esra Özcan

Kadının Narinliği Nasıl Ölçülür?

Bocar'ın ağzından Alev'in "Sen bensiz yapamazsın" demesi üzerine "Sensiz yaparım, ben erkeğim kad... more Bocar'ın ağzından Alev'in "Sen bensiz yapamazsın" demesi üzerine "Sensiz yaparım, ben erkeğim kadın değil", "Ben erkeğim kimseden korkmam ama bu bayan, saygı var" türü cümleler dökülüyor, stüdyo da alkışlıyor.

Yaşadığımız ülkeye ve onun sorunlarını anlamaya öncelik vermenin doğal gibi gözüken bir tarafı ol... more Yaşadığımız ülkeye ve onun sorunlarını anlamaya öncelik vermenin doğal gibi gözüken bir tarafı olsa da giderek küreselleşen bir dünyada sadece Türkiye'ye bakarak Türkiye'yi anlamak ve çözüm üretmek mümkün değil.

Esra Özcan, Jacobs University Bremen 9 Kasım Pazartesi günü Berlin duvarının yıkılışının 20. yıld... more Esra Özcan, Jacobs University Bremen 9 Kasım Pazartesi günü Berlin duvarının yıkılışının 20. yıldönümünü. Berlin'de kutlamalar için sene başından beri yapılan hazırlıklar bugün doruk noktasına ulaşacak.

Mainstreaming the Headscarf: Islamist Politics and Women in the Turkish Media, 2019

Television in Turkey, 2020

In this contribution, I provide an in-depth rhetorical and textual analysis of a television debat... more In this contribution, I provide an in-depth rhetorical and textual analysis of a television debate program broadcast in 2015 on the mainstream television news channel, Habertürk TV in Turkey. The debate brought together women committed to varying political projects, including Kemalism, Islamism, leftist movements, Kurdish women’s movements, and feminism. I find this debate program unique because it took place at a crucial moment in Turkey’s recent history, preceding increasing restrictions on the media that eventually cost more than half of the program participants’ jobs and positions. In my analysis, I focus on how the program’s moderator and the women participants define “women’s issues” in an increasingly authoritarian and conflictual political climate where women are divided with regard to supporting or opposing the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi—AKP) political program. The results of my analysis show that “sisterhood” does not provide common ground for women in a politically polarized environment and women with more political power dominate the conservation.

Özcan explores the similarities between conservative women’s movements in Turkey and the United S... more Özcan explores the similarities between conservative women’s movements in Turkey and the United States. She argues that the designation of conservative women’s activism as “Islamic feminism” in Turkey has eclipsed the similarities between these women and the conservative women’s movements elsewhere. The chapter focuses on how Turkey’s conservative women, so called “Islamic feminists,” have aligned with the authoritarian policies of the Justice and Development Party, supported the elimination of rights and freedoms, and institutionalized anti-feminism. The author suggests that transnational feminist scholarship pays more attention to how networks of conservative women in different parts of the world ally with misogynist men in power and contribute to the marginalization of feminism.

In this paper, I reflect on the use of the term "Islamic feminism" in Turkey from the 1990s to th... more In this paper, I reflect on the use of the term "Islamic feminism" in Turkey from the 1990s to the present. I discuss how Turkey's Islamic feminists who were once the victims and strong critics of secular authoritarianism have now become advocates of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's populist Islamist authoritarianism which has severely restricted rights and freedoms in the country. I claim that using the term "Islamic feminist" in reference to the Islamist women supporters of Erdoğan is misleading as it puts a progressive spin on their ideas and activism.

Introduction to Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Feb 15, 2017

In political and popular media discourse "Muslim woman" has become the prime example of the oppre... more In political and popular media discourse "Muslim woman" has become the prime example of the oppression of women in the world. In a climate where Islam is constantly associated with extremism, violence and oppression of women, this article aims to give the students tools to critically engage with the category of "Muslim woman" and have a nuanced understanding of how we come to know Muslim women and the complexity of this category.

This article compares the visual representations of the female headscarf in Islamic and secular n... more This article compares the visual representations of the female headscarf in Islamic and secular newspapers in Turkey during the 10-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP)). This study is based on a content analysis of all visuals from three election periods (November 2002, July 2007 and June 2011) and two neutral time frames outside of the elections (August 2002 and August 2012). It also includes a qualitative analysis of the news articles that showed pictures of successful women wearing headscarves. The results show that the number of women wearing headscarves increased in both Islamic and secular newspapers between 2002 and 2012. The increase is not only more prominent in Islamic newspapers but the valence attached to headscarves and to the women wearing them is also qualitatively different. This article argues that the Islamic newspapers have created an image of a new ideal conservative woman that ignores the worsening conditions for women in general and AKP's increasingly restrictive gender politics specifically.

This study analyses the female and the male visuals in six Turkish newspapers representing differ... more This study analyses the female and the male visuals in six Turkish newspapers representing different socio-political positions. Visual representations shape the ways people perceive the world and they signify the social fabric. Changes in the visualization of the females in particular indicate societal changes taking place. Various previous studies on Turkish press focused either on the question of underrepresentation of women or on a comparative analysis of the religious and secular press with respect to the representation of women based on textual material. Turkish newspapers are very rich in terms of visual material and in terms of the visual depiction of women. The study argues that the exclusion of visuals from such analyses creates a serious shortcoming. Thus, this study aims to expand the previous research with the incorporation of visual analysis. Secondly, as is the case in previous research, approaching secular and religious press as two separate and distinct camps tends to obscure both the similarities between religious and secular newspapers and the differences within secular and within religious newspapers with respect to the depiction of women. Therefore this study aims not only to look at the differences between secular and religious newspapers in Turkey but also at the differences within them in terms of the visual representation of women. In methodological terms quantitative visual content analysis and qualitative iconological and semiological analyses are employed to analyze the characteristics and meanings of the visuals. In theoretical terms selected approaches towards modernity, media, gender and visual communication inform the study.

In this work the aim is to explore the new relationships and combinations between Islam, seculari... more In this work the aim is to explore the new relationships and combinations between Islam, secularism and modernity figuring in the appeal and popularity of a modern theologian, Yaşar Nuri Ozturk. His popularity at a point in time and the discussions centring around him can be used as a reference point to analyse different layers of religious life and its interplay with truXiemity in Turkey. The work is built upon text analysis. The analysis of these discuSsions both point to a historical continuity and testify to the emergence of new Muslim profiles aloog with new approaches in Islam that seek to coexist and cohabit with modernity and modern life preferences. The interrelatedness of this process with nationalism, popular culture and women's position in Islam forms the backbone of this work.

Kadının Narinliği Nasıl Ölçülür?

Bocar'ın ağzından Alev'in "Sen bensiz yapamazsın" demesi üzerine "Sensiz yaparım, ben erkeğim kad... more Bocar'ın ağzından Alev'in "Sen bensiz yapamazsın" demesi üzerine "Sensiz yaparım, ben erkeğim kadın değil", "Ben erkeğim kimseden korkmam ama bu bayan, saygı var" türü cümleler dökülüyor, stüdyo da alkışlıyor.

Yaşadığımız ülkeye ve onun sorunlarını anlamaya öncelik vermenin doğal gibi gözüken bir tarafı ol... more Yaşadığımız ülkeye ve onun sorunlarını anlamaya öncelik vermenin doğal gibi gözüken bir tarafı olsa da giderek küreselleşen bir dünyada sadece Türkiye'ye bakarak Türkiye'yi anlamak ve çözüm üretmek mümkün değil.

Esra Özcan, Jacobs University Bremen 9 Kasım Pazartesi günü Berlin duvarının yıkılışının 20. yıld... more Esra Özcan, Jacobs University Bremen 9 Kasım Pazartesi günü Berlin duvarının yıkılışının 20. yıldönümünü. Berlin'de kutlamalar için sene başından beri yapılan hazırlıklar bugün doruk noktasına ulaşacak.