Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Political Science and International Relations (English)

POLI458

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN TURKEY

Course Code
POLI458
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. have in-depth knowledge about the origins and development of women's movement in Turkey.
  2. have detailed knowledge about the current situation of the women's movement in Turkey.
  3. have knowledge about feminist thought and politics.
  4. are able to develop relation between democratic practice and women's movement.
  5. are able to have experience as interns in civil society organizations, state institutions and international bodies that work on women-men equality.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme ComponentsNo recommended optional programme components.
Course DescriptionThe course is designed to provide the students with in-depth knowledge about the woman issue and the development of woman's movement in Turkey with a historical perspective. Starting with an introductory note on the practical and theoretical foundations of woman's movement, the course critically explores the evolution of woman's movement in Turkey. An historical assessment of the economic, social and political status of woman in Turkey is also included within the scope of the course.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction
2nd Week Conceptual Toolkit: Key Analytical Concepts
3rd Week Scholarly Debates I: Wave Narratives and Modernization Paradigms
4th Week Scholarly Debates II: Intersectional and Revisionist Approaches
5th Week Women's Activism in the Late Ottoman Period (1876-1923)
6th Week Early Republican Period (1923-1950): Emancipated but Unliberated?
7th Week Midterm Exam
8th Week Multi-Party Period through the 1980 Coup
9th Week 1980s-1990s: Autonomous Feminism and Emerging Pluralism
10th Week Islamic & Kurdish Feminist Contributions and Critiques
11th Week Early 2000s: State, Counterpublics, and Global Gender Regimes under AKP
12th Week 2011 and Onwards: Authoritarian Backlash, Reproductive Rights, and Anti-Gender Politics
13th Week Women in Ecological, Labor and Transnational Resistance
14th Week Beyond Women-Centered Agenda: Masculinities, Queer and Youth Activism
Recommended or Required ReadingKandiyoti, Deniz (1988). "Bargaining with Patriarchy." Gender & Society 2(3): 274-290.
Yuval-Davis, Nira. "Women, citizenship and difference." Feminist review 57.1 (1997): 4-27.
Verta Taylor (1998). Feminist Methodology in Social Movements Research. Qualitative Sociology 21(4): 357-379
Çakır, Serpil (2007). "Feminism and Feminist History-Writing in Turkey: The Discovery of Ottoman Feminism." Aspasia 1: 61-83.
Arat, Yeşim (1997). "The Project of Modernity and Women in Turkey." In Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey, pp. 95-112.
Sirman, Nükhet (1989). "Feminism in Turkey: A Short History." New Perspectives on Turkey 3(1): 1- 34.
Diner, Çağla & Şule Toktaş (2010). "Waves of Feminism in Turkey: Kemalist, Islamist and Kurdish Women's Movements." Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 12(1): 41-57.
Adak, Sevgi, and Selin Çağatay. "Revisiting feminist historiography on women's activism in Turkey: beyond the grand narrative of waves." Women's History Review 32.5 (2023): 723-744.
Çakır, Serpil (2007). "Feminism and Feminist History-Writing in Turkey: The Discovery of Ottoman Feminism." Aspasia 1: 61-83.
Acar, Feride & Gülbanu Altunok (2013). "The 'Politics of Intimate' at the Intersection of Neo- liberalism and Neo-conservatism in Contemporary Turkey." Women's Studies International Forum 41: 14-23.
Gündüz, M., & Gençoğlu, F. (2024). Dissident women?s organizations as a counter-hegemonic actor in Turkey. Turkish Studies, 25(2), 233?256. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2023.2208270
Öztürkmen, Arzu (1997). "The Women's Movement under Ottoman and Republican Rule: A Historical Reappraisal." Journal of Women's History 9(1): 89-96.
Oğuz, Ciğdem (2023). "Between Authenticity and Inspiration: Transnational Dynamics in Ottoman/Turkish Feminism." Contemporanea 2023.4: 517-546.
Demirdirek, Aynur (2014). "Muslim Ottoman Feminists' Perceptions of Their Non-Muslim Counterparts after Meşrutiyet." Fe Dergi 6: 1-17.
Kandiyoti, Deniz (1987). "Emancipated but Unliberated? Reflections on the Turkish Case." Feminist Studies 13(2): 317-338.
White, Jenny B. (2003). "State Feminism, Modernization, and the Turkish Republican Woman." NWSA Journal 15(3): 145-159.
Dell'Abate Çelebi, Barbara (2025). "Nezihe Muhiddin and the Struggle for Women's Franchise: The Defeat of Feminism by Nationalism in Early Republican Turkey." Nations and Nationalism.
Adak, Hülya (2007). "Suffragettes of the Empire, Daughters of the Republic: Women Auto/biographers Narrate National History (1918-1935)." New Perspectives on Turkey 36: 27-51.
Arat, Yeşim (1994). "Toward a Democratic Society: The Women's Movement in Turkey in the 1980s." Women's Studies International Forum 17(2-3): 241-248.
Berkay, Fatmagül (2015). "Turkish Feminism: A Short History." In Turkish Women: A Century of Change, pp. 3-26.
Tekeli, Şirin (1995). "Women in Modern Turkish Society." In Women in Modern Turkish Society, pp. 15-50.
Arat, Yeşim (1994). "Toward a Democratic Society: The Women's Movement in Turkey in the 1980s." Women's Studies International Forum 17(2-3): 241-248.
Aliefendioğlu, Hanife. "Feminist Challenges to Violence: Differences of the Two Feminist Magazines, Pazartesi and Amargi." Communication in Peace/Conflict in Communication (2008): 127.
Coşar, Simten & Funda Gençoğlu Onbaşı (2008). "Women's Movement in Turkey at a Crossroads: From Women's Rights Advocacy to Feminism." South European Society and Politics 13(3): 325-344.
Çağatay, Selin (2018). "In, Against (and Beyond?) the State: Women's Movements and the AKP in Turkey." Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 14(1): 3-24.
Kandiyoti, Deniz (2016). "Locating the Politics of Gender: Patriarchy, Neo-Liberal Governance and Violence in Turkey." Research and Policy on Turkey 1(2): 103-118.
Doyle, Jessica L. (2018). "Government Co-option of Civil Society: The Case of Turkish Women's CSOs." Democratization 25(3): 445-463.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 25
Assignment 1 30
Total(%) 55
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 55
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 45
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 1.5 1.5
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work 14 3 42
Preparation for Final exam 1 22 22
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 18 18
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 1.5 1.5
Homework 1 25 25
Total Work Load152
Total Work Load / 30 (h)5.06
ECTS Credit of the Course5
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
K1 X X X
K2
K3
K4 X
K5 X X
K6 X X X
K7 X
K8 X
K9 X X
K10 X
K11 X
K12 X X X
K13