Paper short abstract:

The development of anthropology and folklore in relation to the state ideology has always been a problematic issue in Turkey. We explore the state of anthropology and folklore studies in the 1930s-1940s in dialogue with the developments that took place since the 2000s under the current regime.

Paper long abstract:

Institutionalizing anthropology (1925) was the flagship of Turkish nation-building, to which certain anthropologists/historians contributed through specific theories--particularly between the 1930s--the 1940s, such as Turkish History Thesis, pointing to the so-called origin of the Alpine race as Central Asia/Anatolia. Similarly, the Sun-Language Theory argued that the world languages stemmed from 'proto-Turkish.' This racial and racist anthropology aimed at proving the 'superiority of the Turkish race,' as folklore research solidified the claims of a homogenous nation from within.

While ethnologists in post-war Europe discussed new epistemologies, theories, and disciplinary identities and shifted their attention from 'race/past' to 'culture/everyday,' the persisting authoritarian regime in Turkey barred a general disciplinary self-reflection. Besides, peaking racism and frequent military coups caused unbearable social traumas. Mass murders, ethnic cleansings, and other forms of injustice towards ethnic minorities as well as women and LGBT were and still are made 'in the name of the pure nation.' Today, anthropology/folklore follows nationalism, blending it with neoliberalism, globalization, and precarity.

In our paper, we will address the following: How Turkish anthropologists contributed to the strengthening of racial and/or cultural paradigms? What ideological differences and similarities can be traced between 'old' and 'new' Turkish anthropology/folklore? What is the future for anthropology in the aftermath of the actual intellectual brain-drain, loss of funding, economic deprivation, compromised scientific publishing, and a general lack of social trust in Turkey? What can we learn from and how do we come to terms with our past?