Abstract:

Jean Jacques Rousseau, who presents his ideal of a social-political order in his work The Social Contract, envisions his ideal education for an individual in Emile or On Education through which he lays the groundwork for this social-political order. In this article, Rousseau's education model is analyzed from a gender perspective, based on his book Emile; it is aimed to reveal how education is used in transforming society and making individuals adopt the roles created for them. Although Rousseau has egalitarian views based on the concept of the general will in The Social Contract, in Emile, while he offers good citizenship education for men, limits women to being the ideal woman-mother. In Emile, women are not accepted as individuals who can make decisions independently; the existence of Sofie in particular, and women in general, is made dependent on the will of fathers and husbands. Rousseau attributes women's “powerlessness” to their reproductive functions, and to the characteristics - such as “inability to make decisions independently,” and “sensitivity” - which he designates as belonging to women. As a result, while Emile learns by experiencing and observing the nature, Sofie is idealized in accordance with the patriarchal order by being educated in the private sphere.