Research Project: Kültürel Sınırların İnşası: Türkiye'de Kültürel, Sosyo-Ekonomik ve Ahlâki Statü Göstergeleri Arasındaki İlişkiler
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Contributors
Funders
ID
TB.00015
Authors
Ergin, Murat
Faculty Member
Publications
Education and symbolic violence in contemporary Turkey
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2019) Ergin, Murat; Gökşen, Fatoş; Rankin, Bruce; Department of Sociology; Yes; College of Social Sciences and Humanities
This article examines the perceptions of education in Turkey, which refer to a nebulous package of formal education and a cultured stance. Guided by the literature on symbolic violence, we argue that underprivileged groups misrecognize arbitrary hierarchies by considering them just and inevitable. Elite tastes have been internalized by other groups in a particular historical context of education and culture. We investigate the historical roots of this seemingly ahistorical constellation of power relations around education and then consider the implications for the neoliberal period. Then, we contextualize the responses to symbolic violence. Subordinate groups complicate the effects of symbolic violence by exhibiting diverse responses that range from outright submission to implicitly questioning cultural and moral boundaries, creating class and ethnic others in the process. This occurs by constructing cultural and moral boundaries, especially targeting the 'vulgar' culture of celebrities and Kurds.
Cultural omnivorousness in turkey
(Sage, 2017) Ergin, Murat; Rankin, Bruce; Department of Sociology; Yes; College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Recent cultural consumption research has drawn attention to the emergence of the high status cultural omnivore,' that is, individuals who consume a wide range of cultural products, including the expected high culture,' but more popular' forms as well. Initially reported in studies conducted in the developed West, this study broadens the basis of comparison by investigating the case of Turkey - a non-western, predominantly Muslim, developing country with a long history of state-led westernization. Using data from a nationally representative survey of adults, the study examines 34 cultural tastes in three domains - music, food, and literature - and participation in five different cultural activities for evidence of an omnivorous pattern. The items used include indicators of high' and popular' culture, as well as local' and global/western' culture. The results of a latent class analysis clearly identify an omnivorous group. A distinctive feature of the Turkish cultural field is that groups are largely defined by their orientation towards local versus global forms, with omnivores consuming both, in contrast to groups that restrict their diet to local' forms. Further analysis shows that, similar to studies in other contexts, Turkish omnivorousness is associated with higher social position, especially education and income. Omnivores also tend to be younger and more secular in their views towards the role of religion in the public sphere. The article concludes that, in addition to the high/popular distinction, the local/global is a critical symbolic boundary shaping cultural identities in Turkey.
