Politics of Culture in Contemporary Turkey

Pierre Hecker is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS) at Philipps-University Marburg, Germany. He holds a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Leipzig and is the author of the book Turkish Metal. Music, Meaning, and Morality in a Muslim Society (Ashgate 2012; Routledge 2016). His recent publications include Islam. The Meaning of Style (Sociology of Islam 2018) and The “Arab Spring” and the End of Turkish Democracy (Palgrave, 2019). He is the head of the research group ‘“Ne mutlu ateistim diyene”. Atheism and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Turkey’ funded by Stiftung Mercator. Ivo Furman is Assistant Professor at Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of New Media and Communication. He completed his PhD in Sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2015. His research has been supported by numerous institutions including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education, the Turkish Science and Technology Foundation (TUBITAK) and Stiftung Mercator. He is part of the research group ‘“Ne mutlu ateistim diyene”. Atheism and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Turkey’ funded by Stiftung Mercator. Kaya Akyıldız is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology at Istanbul Bahçeşehir University. He completed his PhD in the Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture Program at Binghamton University. His research has been supported by numerous institutions including Stiftung Mercator and The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). His recent research interests are related to political memory, Sunniness and the strategies of cultural hegemony in ‘New Turkey’.

• ForewordMartin Stokes, King’s College London1. The Politics of Culture in ‘New Turkey’Pierre Hecker, Ivo Furman, Kaya AkyıldızPart I: Subcultures and the Politics of Lifestyles2. Battling Over the Spirit of a Nation: Attitudes Towards Alcohol in ‘New Turkey’Ivo Furman, Istanbul Bilgi University3. Spreading VX-Gas over Kaaba: Islamic Semiotics in Turkish Black MetalDouglas Mattsson, Södertörn University Stockholm4. Tired of Religion: Atheism and Non-Belief in ‘New Turkey’Pierre Hecker, Philipps University MarburgPart II: Satire and Agitprop in ‘New Turkey’5. Democra-Z: Election Ads, a Failed Coup and Zombie Politics in ‘New Turkey’Josh Carney, American University of Beirut6. United against the Referee: Competitive Authoritarianism, Soccer and the Remaking of Nationalism in Erdoğanist TurkeyCan Evren, Duke University7. Between Resistance and Surrender: Counter-hegemonic Discourses in Turkish Satirical MagazinesValentina Marcella, University of NaplesPart III: Civil Society and the Politics of Gender8. The Boundaries of Womanhood in ‘New Turkey’: The Case of KADEMGülşen Çakıl-Dinçer, Adıyaman University9. Never Walk Alone: The Politics of Unveiling in ‘New Turkey’Ayşe Çavdar, Philipps University Marburg 10. Welcome to Dystopia. A View into the Counter-hegemonic Discourse(s) of Ecological Activism in IstanbulJulia Lazarus, BerlinPART IV: Mediating Neo-Ottomanism in Popular Culture11. New Histories for a New Turkey: The First Battle of Kut (1916) and the Reshaping of the Ottoman PastBurak Onaran, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University12. Between Invention and Authenticity: Representations of Abdülhamid II in the TV Series ‘Payitaht’Caner Tekin, Ruhr University Bochum13. Writing a Visual History of Turkey: ‘Glorious History’ in Mainstream Cinema vs ‘Complicated History’ in Arthouse FilmsDiliara Brileva A. Krymsky, Institute of Oriental Studies, Ukraine14. The Politics of Nostalgia: The New Urban Culture in Ankara’s Historic NeighbourhoodsPetek Onur, University of CopenhagenPART V: ‘New Turkey’s’ Ethno-Religious Others15. The Affirmation of Sunni Supremacism in Erdoğan’s ‘New Turkey’Kaya Akyıldız, Istanbul Bahçeşehir University16. ‘Because They Would Misunderstand’: Romeyka Heritage and the Masculine Reconfigurations of Public Culture in Contemporary TurkeyErol Sağlam, Istanbul Medeniyet University17. A Politics of Presence: Public Performances of Roma Belonging in IstanbulDanielle V. Schoon, Ohio State UniversityNotes on ContributorsIndex

A wonderfully wide-ranging collection of essays, critical and yet hopeful, presenting a compelling cultural map of the ‘New Turkey’ and in so doing making a significant contribution to the globalisation of Turkish cultural studies.