Process of nation building and construction of Turkish literature

In this dissertation, bringing into focus the relationship between the process ofnation building and Turkish literature the mutual influence between the two isanalyzed. Within this framework the following subjects are focused on: 1) Thetransmission of the concept of literature into the early Republican period and itsmeanings; 2) the appropriation of Namık Kemal, ?the poet of the homeland?, duringthis period and his influence upon the process that is being studied; 3) the newlyestablishedstate?s control over the dramatic plays that were to be displayed by thePeople?s Houses; 4) the attempts of the state and some authors at modernizingpeople?s books/popular folk tales and the Karagöz plays in accordance with the newregime?s principles.The main argument of the dissertation is that the cultural policies of the earlyRepublican period and their implementation through the process of construction, i.e.the intervention of the state in literature and the mission it assigns to it,?constructed? Turkish literature in certain ways.In conclusion, taking the cultural policies of the new Turkish state as a referencepoint, shortcomings of the Turkish literature which was formed by the nationbuilding process, and the necessity for making up for these shortcomings firstthrough the treasury of literature in Turkish, and then of literature of Turkey wereemphasized.