Classes and Status Groups in Times of Great Transformation: Reading Agrarian Change in Çukurova through the Lens of Yaşar Kemal
Abstract
This study investigates the changing positions of social classes and status groups during the capitalist transformation
of agriculture in Turkish Çukurova region throughout the last century from the perspective of Yaşar Kemal’s literary
works. The study begins with a methodological discussion on the use of literary works in historical and sociological
studies. It stresses three points regarding the agrarian change in Çukurova. Firstly, the resistance of lower classes to
the capitalist agrarian transformation had a wide scope spanning from the Luddite-type machine-breaking to land
and labor struggles. Secondly, proletarianized villagers viewed wage work as a temporary rather than a permanent
condition, which would help them accumulate funds and engage with small-scale farming. Finally, transformations
of classes and status groups were closely related. While the previous generations of landlords remained loyal to precapitalist social norms, failed to adapt to capitalist transformation and thereby declined, new generations started to
rise, embracing profit maximization as the main goal.
Keywords
class,status group,agrarian change,Çukurova,Turkish literature,Yaşar Kemal
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