Abstract:

This article aims to elaborate on the ideal of “becoming modern” embraced by large segments of the Turkish society and the Turkish experience of modernity with reference to everyday life practices. The essay rests upon the idea that the ideal of  Doç. Dr., Marmara Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü, e-posta: [email protected] “becoming modern” has been maintained despite all the vicissitudes of historical change. The first argument I put forward here is that the ideal of “modernness” has been shared by different classes and groups of Turkish society. Secondly, I argue that modernization is not solely an “elite project,” but a way of thinking and a fundamental ideal shared by the bulk of the society. Thus, I underline that the social imaginary revolving around modernization is deep-rooted and conducive to social cohesion. Thirdly, I argue that the ideal of “becoming modern” has been wellpreserved and reproduced all through the complex history of Turkey’s relations with the European Union from its very beginning. Hence, the debates on Turkey’s membership to the European Union bear upon all the other fundamental social issues in Turkey. Today, the Turkish society carries on an imaginary dialog with the European Union, which is largely viewed as the representative of modernity/the West. I elaborate on the social significance and grounding of this dialog. I base my arguments on a number of pieces of research I have conducted, in particular on the articles I wrote in relation to the two separate pieces of research: I try to combine the data I collected through the interviews with small shopkeepers and artisans in various districts in Istanbul and the results of the research on Turkey’s eşraf (locally notable) families.

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