Reşad Ekrem Koçu'nun İstanbul Ansiklopedisi'ni okumak

This study aims to analyse the significance of city encyclopaedias within the context of media studies and urban history, by examining the concept of the "encyclopaedic narrative" as it relates to these reference works. Specifically, the analysis will be framed within the context of Reşad Ekrem Koçu's Istanbul Encyclopaedia, which is not only the first city encyclopaedia in Turkey, but also an multi/inter-disciplinary work with a range of potential connections and articles. Cross-referencing is a fundamental principle of encyclopaedic narrative, and it is utilized to link articles together within the framework of the narrative. The system that results from this principle is a complex structure, comprised of nodes and connections that form a database. In essence, the narrative elements that make up the organization of the encyclopaedia function as a type of database, and the structure created by the encyclopaedic narrative at this point is referred to as the "topology of the encyclopaedia." Encyclopaedic topology is a productive structure that is open to new discourses thanks to the nodes and connections it contains. City encyclopaedias are not solely a reference source, but also a potential research tool for urban historiography and media studies. However, city encyclopaedias were treated only as reference sources, rather than being an object of research in themselves. Koçu's Istanbul Encyclopaedia is multi-layered in content and structure, yet a comprehensive examination of its topology from a holistic perspective has not been conducted.The narrative transforms from a subjective field to an objective one while providing a basis for reading experiments using computational methods. Through this reading utilization of digital tools in digital transformation enables the resolution and analysis of the topology of the Istanbul Encyclopaedia, offering new insights and holistic approaches to the discovery of historical traces. The primary objective of this research is to provide a basis for further reading experiments that investigate the transition of Koçu's unique narrative structure to an objective perspective and its impact on urban history writing and media studies through micro/macro, private/public, subjective/objective dualities. To achieve this, the distant reading method, an alternative reading technique, will be employed. A comprehensive analysis of Koçu's Istanbul Encyclopaedia will be conducted through multiple reading attempts, and the potential and limitations of these readings will be discussed. The ultimate goal of the study is to uncover the impact of the city on urban discourses regarding change and transformation and to offer suggestions and analyses on how city encyclopaedias can be read with a holistic approach.