ENGENDERING SPACE FOR EDUCATION IN TURKEY

In the 1920s and 1930s modernization was the state
ideology in Turkey, which affected all social
systems, including education and architecture. This
ideological program of the new nation-state gave
special attention to women and their education. In
this context, the Girls Institutes were significant
for representing modernization, with reference to the
formation of the new woman , in both the new system
of education and also via the buildings that were
designed for such education. This study examines the smet Pa a Girls Institute in Ankara -the first of
those institutions- as examplary of contemporary
educational institutions as well as of contemporary
architecture in Turkey. The aim is to discuss the
modernizing attempts of the new nation-state, as well
as the ambiguities it incorporated and the changing
attitudes it presented towards tradition. The
modernization agenda of the state and traditional
values resisting to it constituted the dilemma and
the ambivalence of the Kemalist perspective during
the early Republican period, creating a problem of
identity in all attempts of modernization that will
form the basis of the spatial analysis in this study.

Autorentext

Pelin Gürol Öngoren received her B.A. degree from the Dept. ofInterior Architecture and Environmental Design at BilkentUniversity.She completed her M.A. degree at METU in architecturalhistory, and has been pursuing her studies in the sameinstitution at the doctorate level.She is currently working atthe American Research Institute in Turkey.

Klappentext

In the 1920s and 1930s modernization was the stateideology in Turkey, which affected all socialsystems, including education and architecture. Thisideological program of the new nation-state gavespecial attention to women and their education. Inthis context, the Girls' Institutes were significantfor representing modernization, with reference to theformation of the 'new woman', in both the new systemof education and also via the buildings that weredesigned for such education. This study examines theIsmet Pasa Girls' Institute in Ankara -the first ofthose institutions- as examplary of contemporaryeducational institutions as well as of contemporaryarchitecture in Turkey. The aim is to discuss themodernizing attempts of the new nation-state, as wellas the ambiguities it incorporated and the changingattitudes it presented towards tradition. Themodernization agenda of the state and traditionalvalues resisting to it constituted the dilemma andthe ambivalence of the Kemalist perspective duringthe early Republican period, creating a problem ofidentity in all attempts of modernization that willform the basis of the spatial analysis in this study.