Politics of decay and spatial resistance


Akşit E. E.

Social and Cultural Geography, cilt.11, sa.4, ss.343-357, 2010 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2010
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/14649361003774589
  • Dergi Adı: Social and Cultural Geography
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.343-357
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Turkey, historical space, gender, ethnicity, nation-building, NEW-YORK-CITY, PUBLIC SPACE, URBAN, TURKEY, MEMORY, GEOGRAPHY, ISTANBUL, FEMINIST, STREET, SUBJECTIVITY
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

A historical and multi-cultural district called Istiklal challenges the Turkish claim as a secular, culturally Muslim, and ethnically Turkish nation. This region is at the heart of the republic: it is in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara, and within a region called Ulus, i.e. 'the Nation.' This district is threatened by a continuous process of demolition that has been taking place around this region since the 1940s, in fact, in the last thirty years, a politics of decay has complemented actual acts of demolition. The female residents of the region counteract this politics by narrating the daily problems that the residents of Istiklal encounter as a result of this politics. Their strategies of narration constitute a resistance against exclusion. By historicizing the experiences that the district has endured, they fight the temporalization of this space, and manage to transgress its isolation. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.