The representation of Byzantine history in high school textbooks in Turkey (original) (raw)
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Byzantium Ascribed as the Other in Primary School History Textbooks in Late Period of Ottoman Empire
Journal of International Social Research, 2019
The purpose of this study is to show in which contexts the Byzantium Empire is handled in primary school history textbooks in late period of Ottoman Empire, which kind of negative ascriptions it was targeted with, or how it was ascribed as the "other". Unravelling significant findings regarding the image of Byzantium in late period of Ottoman Empire when important transformations occurred in regard of identity construction, this study also endeavours to cast a light on the meanings and missions ascribed to the concept of "us". Designed as a qualitative research towards this purpose, the primary material of the study consists of history textbooks prepared for use in primary schools of the period in question. 15 of these books were chosen. Criteria for this selection included the books in question being prepared in accord with the curriculum in force at the time as well as being approved by the Ministry of Education. Document analysis method was employed to collect data related to the subject of the study from these textbooks. Collected data were analysed with the content analysis technique. According to the results construed from these data the Byzantium Empire was not a subject of history textbooks in all its aspects. It was brought under attention in the context of Islam and especially in the context of Turkish history, but therein it was attributed with negative qualities in various ways and ascribed as the "other".
The popular perception of Byzantium in contemporary Turkish culture
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 2022
The aim of this article is to present the sources available to the ordinary Turkish citizen for forming an opinion about Byzantium. These sources range from the written (school curricula to newspapers) to the visual (cinema to television), and I categorize them on the basis of a set of criteria such as accessibility, control over the audience, and intellectual depth. I aim to show how non-state actors have been laying the groundwork for a more informed perception of Byzantium. Movies, theatrical productions, and cartoons in humorous magazines satirizing the essentializing view of the Byzantine past through parody, are shown to play a deconstructive role in this process.
Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies, 2022
History textbooks are of key importance in constructing nations' identities. They have been the major medium for raising citizens who exhibit similar emotions and behavioural patterns in construing current events and developments. This paper traces back the formation processes of established stereotypes and the image of other(s) in relation to forming a positive selfimage. Greece and Turkey have long been discussing forming teams of bilateral experts to emend their history textbooks, in particular removing othering and negative other images. Yet no success in this regard has been achieved, two littoral states have separately revised their textbooks several times. The focus of this study is limited to the current sixth-grade Greek history textbook, which launched to displace a historic textbook that was used for over two decades. The study employs interpretive discourse analysis and attempts to examine the main elements of self/other constructions, and whether there is a continuity or change in the images of the Ottoman-Turks between the previous edition and the current one in use.
A Survey of Articles on Byzantium in Academic Journals and Popular Magazines in Turkey (1923-2023)
A Century of Byzantine Studies in Turkey: Papers from the Sixth International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium, 2024
The exploration of Byzantine culture in the scholarly landscape of modern Turkey serves as a multifaceted journey through time, revealing layers of historical narratives intertwined with ideological currents. This paper examines the evolution of Byzantine Studies in Turkey through both quantitative and qualitative analyses of articles in academic journals and popular magazines. By doing that, this study aims to provide a statistical foundation to discover the motivations, themes, and ideological approaches that shaped scholarly discourse and public perceptions regarding Byzantium, along with an interpretation of changing trends throughout the first century since the founding of the Republic of Turkey.
The Byzantine Empire, which existed for more than 1000 years, holds a special place in the history of civilization. It was the largest medieval Christian state on the crossroad of Europe and Asia. The Byzantine culture belongs to the medieval Christian culture, but it has specific peculiarities in comparison to the Western Christian culture. The henomenon of Byzantium, as the successor of the Roman state tradition and as the source of Christian culture, is of particular importance in the development of Georgia's historical processes. Understanding the historical processes of the V-XV centuries in Georgia is quite difficult without knowing the history of Byzantium. We cannot analyze even the later period without knowing Byzantium, because this country has left an indelible mark on Georgia, especially on its culture. The purpose of the present article is to show what the position of the Byzantine history is in the national curriculum and school books.
DergiPark (Istanbul University), 2022
History textbooks are of key importance in constructing nations' identities. They have been the major medium for raising citizens who exhibit similar emotions and behavioural patterns in construing current events and developments. This paper traces back the formation processes of established stereotypes and the image of other(s) in relation to forming a positive selfimage. Greece and Turkey have long been discussing forming teams of bilateral experts to emend their history textbooks, in particular removing othering and negative other images. Yet no success in this regard has been achieved, two littoral states have separately revised their textbooks several times. The focus of this study is limited to the current sixth-grade Greek history textbook, which launched to displace a historic textbook that was used for over two decades. The study employs interpretive discourse analysis and attempts to examine the main elements of self/other constructions, and whether there is a continuity or change in the images of the Ottoman-Turks between the previous edition and the current one in use.
Espacio, Tiempo y Educación, v. 7, n.2, July-December 2020, pp. 177-191, 2020
In which ways has Medieval and Byzantine History been embedded in the Greek national narrative in the first life steps of the Greek state during the 19th century? In which ways was it related to the emerging nationalisms in the Balkans, the relationships with the West and the countries of the Southeastern Europe during the Balkan Wars, the First and the Second World War and especially during the Cold War until today? In which ways does Byzantium correlate with the notion of Greekness and which place does it possess in the Neo-hellenic identity and culture? And also, which role does it play in history teaching and what kind of reactions does any endeavor of revision or reformation provoke? To answer the above questions I relied on and analyzed comparatively the following categories of sources: (a) Greek national and European historiography, (b) school history curricula and textbooks, (c) public history sources, (d) the new History Curriculum for the primary and secondary school classes, and (e) the principles and guidelines of international organizations, such as the Council of Europe. In the first three sections of this paper I provide an overview of the conformation and integration of Byzantine period in the Greek national historiography in association with the dominant European philosophical and historical perspectives during the era of modernity, the evolving national politics, the foreign affairs, the prevailing ideological schemas and the role of history education to shaping the common identity of the neo-hellenic society throughout the 19th and 20th century. The fourth section briefly deals with the current situation in history teaching in the Greek schools. The fifth section critically presents the innovative elements and features of the new History Curriculum, which, in some degree, aspires to be considered a change of paradigm in teaching Medieval History in school education. Finally, I summarize and come to some conclusions.
The land of Turkey has not only yielded archaeological finds essential to the formation of the field of archaeology; these finds also played a crucial role in the making of a national narrative in the transition from the late Ottoman Empire to the present-day Republic. The outcome of a symposium organized by the Koç University's Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations in Istanbul, the essays in this volume critically engage with the constitution of Classical and Byzantine archaeology in Turkey, addressing such issues as the historical context of the production of knowledge, the roles of individuals and institutions in shaping scholarship, and the current and future state of the field.
“The Narrative of Religion” in the High School Textbooks of the Early Republican Period in Turkey
Middle of the 20th century, Turkish Republic was entered nationconstruction process. It rebuilt its education system in order to create a new and modern society. Within this scope, one of the main goals of history education was to form a “national identity” and create a “sense of belonging based on ethnicity and language”, as was that of the language education. Most important thing about this identification process is to pass secular identityin spite of traditional religious identity. For secular identity construct religious thought were discussed. This study dealt with the nature of “religious debates” observed in Türk Tarihi’nin Ana Hatları Methal Kısmı (Prolegomena to an Outline of Turkish History) and Tarih I-IV (History I-IV) textbooks, which were among the influential history education instruments of that period, and the reasons for such debates. To this end, the abovementioned high school history textbooks were subjected to document analysis and discourse analysis. The construction of evaluations made on the phenomenon of religion and the Islam in the relevant textbooks was focused on besides the intellectual infrastructure reflected by this organization. In this context, the suitableness of inclusion of religious debates in the high school history textbooks in terms of history education was discussed. As a result it was observedthat in spite of religious thought, positivist, naturalist, Darwinist etc. Thougt were used to shed rekigious thought. And was wanted from students to have task awareness by political reaction and using religion for politic speech. It was aimed to build secular social structure identity.