IQRS · Imperial Queers, Republican Subjects: The Politics of Queer Historiography in Turkey

Imperial Queers, Republican Subjects: The Politics of Queer Historiography in Turkey

Historiography has played a crucial role in nation-building projects across the world and Turkey presents a striking example of this phenomenon. In the country’s formative years (1923-1938), while the government took measures to create an official formulation of Ottoman and Turkish history, dissident groups across the political spectrum produced its alternatives. In both hegemonic and alternative historiography projects, gender and sexuality were of key significance. This research has analyzed the politics of queer historiography and archival practice in this period by focusing on the works of three intellectuals: Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar, Reşad Ekrem Koçu, and Rıza Nur. IQRS has examined how these prominent queer figures, who were born in the Ottoman Empire and witnessed the emergence of the nation-state, produced alternative formulations of the past in the service of Marxist, neo-Imperialist, and ultranationalist ideologies as they negotiated the politics of citizenship and belonging. Specifically, the study aimed to answer the following main questions: • What has been the role of historiography in nation-building in Turkey, and how has sexuality shaped the imaginations regarding the Turkish nation, its past, and its future? • What are the characteristics of queer political projects across the political spectrum, how do such projects converge and diverge, and what are their limits? • What are the politics of historiography in contemporary Turkey, and how do they materialize in everyday life? • How would a queer perspective complicate the current historical justice efforts and the debates about violence in the name of honor in Turkey and its diasporas? As the first comprehensive study on queer historiography and archival practice in Turkey, IQRS has attempted to bring a new perspective on the sexual dimensions of nation-building. With the aid of ethnography, IQRS has also analyzed the current efforts to redefine the official formulation of Turkey’s history. The research has demonstrated that the works of queer intellectuals continue to influence both mainstream and alternative historiographical projects in the country. The material studied has challenged some of the popular trends in Ottoman and Turkish historiography as well, especially the gendered and sexualized aspects of oral history projects. Finally, the biographies of the authors and close readings of their works have shown that the operation of honor as a disciplinary paradigm in Turkey is not only gendered but also sexualized. By demonstrating the relationship between honor and queer sexualities, this research and its outputs can make a critical contribution to the scholarly and public debates on violence in the name of honor in Turkey and its connected geographies.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз