The concept of the individual in early republican intellectual discourse: an analysis of Hayat journal (1926–1929)

YILMAZ DİKO G.

Middle Eastern Studies, 2025 (SSCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/00263206.2025.2535435
  • Dergi Adı: Middle Eastern Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Jewish Studies Source, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article examines the approach to the role and strength of an individual in relation to society and the nation-state in the writings of the journal Hayat, which was published between 1926 and 1929, and provided a platform for prominent intellectuals of the period. The article argues that Hayat authors gave importance to intellectuals in transforming society, advocating for the promotion of rational, free-thinking individuals as the foundation of a democratic society. Despite the presence of conservative corporatist ideas expressed in the journal, I argue that the revolution experience reinforced their belief in the will and power of the individual, a belief whose influence can be seen in the elementary school curricula of the early Republican period. The articles in Hayat were published in Ottoman Turkish and have not yet been used by scholars. Therefore, this article contributes to bringing the debates from the journal into the academic literature.