Istanbulite-household goods relationship in the late Ottoman Period via transforming roles of household goods

This research examines the relationship between Istanbulites and household goods during the late Ottoman period. Istanbul is a context that showcases all the conflicts, negotiations and alignments that were brought by the historical process where the Ottoman State's one and a half century long attempts towards bueroucratic, economic, industrial, educational and social modernization inevitably interacted with the process of integration with the capitalist world economy and the West. As a result of the boom in foreign trade, in-flux of Western goods, re-configuration of bueroucratic, economic and educational organizations experienced in the second half of 19th century, the city went through a complex social, economic and urban transformation that inevitably triggered change in the actions of human actors that operated in fields related to household goods and how these actors re-positioned themselves in relation to the ever-transforming context of Istanbul. In this context, household goods as objects of production, trade, diplay, repair and education, are interpreted as mediators that emerged instantaneously or termly, and as crucial actors that took on roles that facilitated change in Istanbulite actors' (producers, customers, users, merchants, trade representatives, repairmen, publishers, writers and observers) actions. Through the analysis of the editions of Oriental Trade Directories published between 1881-1914, the research presents how certain actors operating in the fields related to household goods re-positioned themselves through the mediating role of certain household goods. Instantaneous or termly mediating roles that certain household goods played in the mobilization of certain human actors and thus in the transformation and expansion of the relationships between these actors are analyzed and presented as historical cases with reference to Actor-Network Theory's basic concepts.