Date of Award

Spring 2021

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Political Science

First Advisor

Anthony Messina

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration of the intersection between nationalist ideology and cultural heritage policy. This thesis answers how and why states utilize cultural heritage policy to build exclusivist forms of nationalism and, more specifically, models of nationalism that exclude ethno-religious minorities. In my work, I employ a case study of Turkey and its treatment of the Greek Orthodox minority population, and examine two specific periods in Turkish history: the Atatürk period (1920 to 1938) and the Erdoğan period (2001 to present). I answer the case-specific question: How and why has the Turkish state utilized policy dealing with tangible and intangible forms of cultural heritage to realize a nationalist ideology that excludes the Greek Orthodox Christian minority of Turkey? The thesis explores the meaning of culture heritage and the implementation of policies relating to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. This thesis also maps a historically continuous pattern in the Turkish state’s iterations of exclusivist nationalism and cultural heritage policies throughout the longue durée of Turkish history.

Comments

Senior Honors Thesis completed at Trinity College, Hartford CT for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Comparative Politics).

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