Suchergebnisse

In a report on the climate for social science research in Turkey published some seven years ago, Edwin J. Cohn noted that there had been a considerable intensification of interest and activity in the social sciences in Turkey, spurred both by the training of Turkish social scientists and by the increased interest of European and American scholars in Turkish experience with rapid social, economic, and political change. At the same time, Cohn reported, "the climate for research, especially research by Americans, has deteriorated…" This assessment remains basically accurate. Of course, in the intervening years, there have been further developments. Two in particular will be dealt with here: continued increase in institutions, facilities, and trained personnel on the Turkish side; and greater formalization of official rules governing the conduct of research by foreigners.

The close relation between language and politics was noted by George Orwell many years ago. Undoubtedly, no other political phenomenon brings this relationship more sharply into focus than that of nationalism."In our time, the national community has assumed paramount power," notes Frederick Hertz. Along with this development, "the national language has become one of the idols of a new religion. All nations regard it as a symbol of their independence and honour, as the supreme expression of their personality, and they esteem its exclusive domination within their national territory more highly than obvious spiritual and material advantages." Indeed, language has been widely (though in some cases erroneously) accepted as one of the prime indicators of national identity.