Mediha Esenel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1914 |
| Died | 26 August 2005 (aged 90–91) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse | Niyazi Berkes |
| Children | Fikret Berkes |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sociology |
| Institutions | Ankara University |
Mediha Esenel (1914 – 2005) was a Turkish sociologist, writer and journalist. She was a faculty member of Ankara University until January 1947 when she resigned from her teaching post during the purge of leftist academics.
Early life and education
[edit]She was born in Istanbul in 1914.[1][2] She was educated at the Erenköy Girls High School.[2][3] She received a degree in philosophy from Istanbul University in 1935.[3] Then she went to the United States with her husband, Niyazi Berkes, and took courses on sociology, folklore, and archeology from the University of Chicago.[3] She received her PhD from Ankara University, and her thesis was on superstitions.[3]
Career and activities
[edit]Following their return to Turkey she and her husband joined the Faculty of Language, History and Geography of Ankara University in 1939.[4] She first worked as a research assistant at the department of folk literature and folklore.[5] Then she became a sociology lecturer at the institute of philosophy.[5] She carried out research on rural sociology.[3] She resigned from her teaching post on 7 January 1947 shortly after the dismissal of her husband and other academics from the faculty.[4][6] She established a daily newspaper, 24 Saat (Turkish: 24 Hours), of which the first issue appeared on 22 February 1947.[4] Its editor-in-chief was Adnan Cemgil, and the paper lasted only 13 days until 6 March 1947.[4]
Then she began to work as a translator.[6] In 1953 she went to Canada where her husband had been living.[2] There she worked at a library and returned to Turkey in 1954.[6] Esenel was employed as a translator at the Denizcilik Bankası (Turkish: Maritime Bank) between 1955 and 1960.[6] She left the job and joined the Robert College in 1960 where she worked as a teacher of philosophy and sociology.[6] In 1972 she retired and continued her visits to villages in Anatolia.[2]
Work
[edit]She was a regular contributor of İsmail Hakkı Baltacıoğlu's journal, Yeni Adam, between 1937 and 1946.[7] During her studies at Ankara University she contributed to the newspapers Vatan and Tan.[3] She published 22 articles in Yurt ve Dünya during this period.[2][4] Following her resignation from Ankara University in 1948 she wrote a textbook targeting primary school students.[6] Her memoir was published in 1999: Geç Kalmış Bir Kitap (Turkish: A Late Book).[3][8]
Personal life and death
[edit]She married Niyazi Berkes with whom she had a son, Fikret.[3][9] They divorced in 1954.[3] Esenel died in Istanbul on 26 August 2005.[6][9]
References
[edit]- ^ Gökhan Ak (2015). "Türk Düşünce Hayatında Mediha Esenel (Berkes) ve 1948 DTCF Tasfiyeleri İlişkisi Üzerine Bir İnceleme". Çağdaş Türkiye Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi (in Turkish). 15 (30): 253.
- ^ a b c d e Ayfer Coşkun (10 June 2001). "Yıllar sonra yazılan kitap" (PDF). Cumhuriyet Dergi (in Turkish). No. 794. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Feryal Saygılıgil (2014). "Erken Cumhuriyet Dönemi Aydınlarından: Mediha Esenel (Berkes)". Sosyoloji Dergisi (in Turkish). 28 (1). CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1023.2347.
- ^ a b c d e Mete Kaan Kaynar; Gökhan Ak (2017). "A Forgotten Moment in Turkish Intellectual History: 24 Hours and Mediha Berkes". Balkan & Near Eastern Studies. 19 (3): 263–264, 267. doi:10.1080/19448953.2017.1267417. S2CID 151343533.
- ^ a b Mete Çetik (October 1997). "Unutulan Yıllar". Birikim (in Turkish). No. 102. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "DTCF'den 70 Yıl Önce İhraç Edildiler, Tarihe İtibarsız Olarak Geçen Onları Atanlar Oldu". Bianet (in Turkish). 9 February 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ Gökhan Ak (2014). "Niyazi Berkes Yazını Üzerine Bir Bibliyografya Denemesi". Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi (in Turkish). 54 (2): 426. hdl:20.500.12575/44749.
- ^ Murat Metinsoy (2020). "Negotiating the price of the new state and republican modernization: resistance to the agricultural taxes in modern Turkey". New Perspectives on Turkey. 20: 83. doi:10.1017/npt.2020.24. S2CID 224906381.
- ^ a b "Ölüm İlanları". Cumhuriyet. 28 August 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2023.