Taste cultures in Turkey: Intersections and differences

The main purpose of the thesis work titled "Taste Cultures in Turkey: Intersections and Differences" is to determine the socio-cultural background of the taste cultures in Turkey. For this purpose, the basic approaches in the sociology of taste were evaluated and the conceptualization of taste cultures was examined in depth. The empirical study to determine the taste cultures and taste publics was carried out in the Turkey. The tastes were examined in titles such as movies, TV series, literature, music, sports, food-beverage, and handicrafts. These tastes were evaluated one by one by the categories of education, gender, age, longest lived place, income, occupation and belief level of the participants. The fieldwork was carried out with the participation of 1085 people. As a result of the field research, three taste cultures were identified: "Nezih, ortalama, sıradan". The intersection and differentiation surfaces of the three identified taste cultures are discussed at the level of categories where tastes are evaluated. The oscillations between these publics of taste are also made visible through these intersection surfaces. They carry symbolic meanings through taste, social relations and interactions. In this context, social relations can be shed light on through the sociology of taste.