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Rockefeller Vakfı, John Marshall ve Modern Türkiye’de Beşerî Bilimlerin Gelişimi:1950-1965

Year 2015, Issue: 38, 113 - 145, 01.06.2015

Abstract

Bu makale Rockefeller Vakfı’nın 1950 ile 1965 yılları
arasında Türkiye’deki beşerî bilim faaliyetlerine katkısını
analiz etmektedir. John D. Rockefeller’ın 1913’te kurduğu
vakıf sağlık ve sosyal bilim faaliyetlerine yoğunlaşıp rasyonel
bilgi dağarcığını zenginleştirip “bilimsel” kültürü
güçlendirmeyi amaç edinmişti. Ancak bilim ve teknolojideki
ilerlemenin insanlığın mutlak faydasına olmadığı
İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndaki yıkım ile anlaşılmış, sosyal bilimlerin
de insan davranışlarını kontrol etmede yetersiz kaldığı
görülmüştü. 1945 sonrası kendine yeni yol haritası arayan
vakıf yönetimi bu sorunların çözümü için beşerî bilimlerin
geliştirilmesi ve desteklenmesi gerektiği sonucuna vardı.
Soğuk Savaş dönemi Amerikan çıkarları için önemli bir
ülke olan Türkiye giderek vakfın ilgi alanına girdi. Aslında
Türkiye 1945 öncesinde Rockefeller Vakfı tarafından sağlık
hizmetleri alanında destek alan bir ülkeydi, ancak 1950–
1965 yılları arasında beşerî bilimler alanındaki destekler
önem kazandı. Rockefeller Vakfı’nın Türkiye’deki faaliyetleri
için anahtar şahsiyet vakfın beşerî bilimler biriminin
direktör yardımcısı John Marshall’dır. 1948–1960 yılları
arasında Türkiye’yi sık sık ziyaret eden Marshall edebiyat
ve sanat erbabı ile sık sık görüştü; bürokrasi ve okul yöneticileri ile dostluk geliştirdi. Marshall’a göre İslam Yakın
Doğu’da şaşırtıcı bir şekilde gücünü korumaktaydı ve bu
bölgede yaşanacak sosyal değişim yabancı değil yerli aktörler
tarafından gerçekleştirilecekti. Marshall Türk toplumunu
kabaca “nüfuz edilemeyen çoğunluk” ve “yaratıcı azınlık”
olarak ikiye ayırıyor, Türkiye’nin batıya yakınlaşmasının
ancak kendileriyle aynı vizyonu paylaşan “yaratıcı azınlık”
eliyle sağlanabileceğini iddia ediyordu. Ona göre, Rockefeller
Vakfı gibi Batılı kurumlara düşen görev bu değişime
liderlik edecek isimleri tespit edip kendi ülkelerinde önlerini
açmaktır. Vakfın Türkiye’deki faaliyetleri Marshall’ın
çizdiği bu çerçeveye göre şekillendi. Zamanın aydın
çevreleri nezdinde ilgi uyandıran ve revaç bulan Rockefeller
destekleri Türk batılılaşmasının yönünü tayinde kayda
değer bir rol oynamıştır.

References

  • Ahmad, Feroz. The Making of Modern Turkey. London: Rout- ledge, 1993.
  • Amove, Robert F., ed. Philanthropy and Cultural Imperialism. Boston: G.K Hall, 1980.
  • Berman, Edward. The Influence of the Carnegie, Ford and Rock- efeller Foundations on American Foreign Policy: The Idea of Philan- thropy. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1983.
  • Brison, Jeffrey D. Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Canada: American Philanthropy and the Arts and Letters in Canada. Kingston: McGill- Queen’s University Press, 2005.
  • Brogan, Hugh. History of the United States. London: Penguin, 2001.
  • Buxton, William, ed., Patronizing the Public: American Philan- thropy’s Transformation of Culture, Communication and the Hu- manities. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2009.
  • Buxton, William. “John Marshall and the Humanities in Europe: Shifting Patterns of Rockefeller Foundation Support.” Minerva 41 (2003): 133-153.
  • Collins, Ralph. “Public Health in Turkey.” RFA, RG 1.1, Series 805, Box 1, Folder 1
  • Cullather, Nick. The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle against Poverty in Asia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010.
  • Eisenhower, Dwight. “Address and Remarks at the Baylor University Commencement Ceremonies, Waco, Texas.” The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ ws/?pid=10499 (accessed 13 February 2015).
  • Fosdick, Raymond. The Story of the Rockefeller Foundation. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1989.
  • Hale, William. Turkish Foreign Policy: 1774–2000. London: MPG, 2002.
  • Garwood, David. “An Experiment in Bilingual, Bicultural Educa- tion.” Liberal Education (1962): 1-11.
  • Gönlübol, Mehmet. Olaylarla Türk Dış Politikası: 1919–1965. An- kara: Siyasal, 2006.
  • Gunn, Selskar. “Diary of Visit to Turkey: May 5– May 13, 1925.” RFA, RG 6.1, Series. 1.1, Box: 37, Folder: 458.
  • Karpat, Kemal. Turkey’s Politics: The Transition To A Multi-Party System. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1959.
  • Kay, Lily E. The Molecular Vision of Life: the Rockefeller Founda- tion, and the Rise of the New Biology and Caltech. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  • Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Easton. 1994.
  • Krige, John. American Hegemony and the Postwar Reconstruction of Science in Europe. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology Press, 2006.
  • Koçak, Cemil. Türkiye’de Milli Şef Dönemi: 1938–1945. Istanbul:

The Rockefeller Foundation, John Marshall and the Development of the Humanities in Modern Turkey: 1950-1965

Year 2015, Issue: 38, 113 - 145, 01.06.2015

Abstract

This article examines the involvement of the Rockefeller Foundation in the realm of the humanities in Turkey between 1950 and 1965. John D. Rockefeller founded the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913. Focusing on medicine and social sciences, the foundation aimed to enrich “scientific culture” and support the pursuit of scientific knowledge. The scale of the destruction during the Second World War, however, showed that scientific and technological progress was not necessarily beneficial for humanity and revealed that the social sciences were an insufficient means of understanding and governing human behavior. In its search for a new approach in the aftermath of the war, the administration of the foundation came to the conclusion that the development and support of the humanities could aid in addressing these failures. As a country of strategic importance for American interests during the Cold War, Turkey increasingly drew the attention of the foundation. While Turkey had received some Rockefeller support before 1945, mostly in the field of health, between 1950 and 1965 the foundation’s growing support for projects in the country increasingly focused on the humanities. The key person in the foundation’s activities in Turkey was John Marshall, vice-director of its Division of Humanities. During his frequent visits to Turkey between 1948 and 1960, Marshall met and befriended bureaucrats, school administrators, and men of arts and literature. According to Marshall, Islam maintained a surprising hold in the Near East, and he believed that for this reason only locals, not foreigners, could be the vanguards of future social change in the region. Marshall divided Turkish society into two rough groups: the “impregnable majority” and “creative minority,” claiming that Turkey’s rapprochement with the West could only be achieved by the “creative minority” who shared its vision. For him, the duty of western organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation was to identify members of the creative minority and support their activities locally. In the following years, this framework shaped the activities of the foundation in Turkey. Rockefeller grants quickly became in high demand among the Turkish intelligentsia and left a serious impact on the direction of Turkish Westernization

References

  • Ahmad, Feroz. The Making of Modern Turkey. London: Rout- ledge, 1993.
  • Amove, Robert F., ed. Philanthropy and Cultural Imperialism. Boston: G.K Hall, 1980.
  • Berman, Edward. The Influence of the Carnegie, Ford and Rock- efeller Foundations on American Foreign Policy: The Idea of Philan- thropy. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1983.
  • Brison, Jeffrey D. Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Canada: American Philanthropy and the Arts and Letters in Canada. Kingston: McGill- Queen’s University Press, 2005.
  • Brogan, Hugh. History of the United States. London: Penguin, 2001.
  • Buxton, William, ed., Patronizing the Public: American Philan- thropy’s Transformation of Culture, Communication and the Hu- manities. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2009.
  • Buxton, William. “John Marshall and the Humanities in Europe: Shifting Patterns of Rockefeller Foundation Support.” Minerva 41 (2003): 133-153.
  • Collins, Ralph. “Public Health in Turkey.” RFA, RG 1.1, Series 805, Box 1, Folder 1
  • Cullather, Nick. The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle against Poverty in Asia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010.
  • Eisenhower, Dwight. “Address and Remarks at the Baylor University Commencement Ceremonies, Waco, Texas.” The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ ws/?pid=10499 (accessed 13 February 2015).
  • Fosdick, Raymond. The Story of the Rockefeller Foundation. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1989.
  • Hale, William. Turkish Foreign Policy: 1774–2000. London: MPG, 2002.
  • Garwood, David. “An Experiment in Bilingual, Bicultural Educa- tion.” Liberal Education (1962): 1-11.
  • Gönlübol, Mehmet. Olaylarla Türk Dış Politikası: 1919–1965. An- kara: Siyasal, 2006.
  • Gunn, Selskar. “Diary of Visit to Turkey: May 5– May 13, 1925.” RFA, RG 6.1, Series. 1.1, Box: 37, Folder: 458.
  • Karpat, Kemal. Turkey’s Politics: The Transition To A Multi-Party System. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1959.
  • Kay, Lily E. The Molecular Vision of Life: the Rockefeller Founda- tion, and the Rise of the New Biology and Caltech. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
  • Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Easton. 1994.
  • Krige, John. American Hegemony and the Postwar Reconstruction of Science in Europe. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology Press, 2006.
  • Koçak, Cemil. Türkiye’de Milli Şef Dönemi: 1938–1945. Istanbul:
There are 20 citations in total.

Details

Other ID JA35VV39PE
Journal Section Article
Authors

Ali Erken This is me

Publication Date June 1, 2015
Published in Issue Year 2015 Issue: 38

Cite

Chicago Erken, Ali. “Rockefeller Vakfı, John Marshall Ve Modern Türkiye’de Beşerî Bilimlerin Gelişimi:1950-1965”. Divan: Disiplinlerarası Çalışmalar Dergisi, no. 38 (June 2015): 113-45.