The state theatre in Turkish nation building: A content analysis on Turkish playscripts

Identity building is a project to rebuild the cultural heritage, history and the vision of the nation states. After the First World War, young Turkey starts a cultural change after the pioneering of the elites. This change has a vision of "Westernization" and nation building. The State Theater of Turkey is an institution for meeting these purposes founded during the period of transition to democracy; repealing one-party government which is not a sudden process. Therefore, it is possible to see the vision of nation building and the eagerness of Westernization in the repertory of the State Theater still. Yet the institution is used as a nation's showcase during the convergence to the West block after the Second World War. In this study, I cover the repertory of the State Theater from the foundation of the institution (1949) until the first military intervention (1960). I support the research by using discourse analysis at first section to analyze the context referring identity; referring the meaning rather than words. This study finds out that as expected the nation building process in Turkish Republic continues in the 1950s with a variety, rather than havin one-dimensional indoctrination of certain national identity.