Assyrian/Syriac Oral History as a Counter-narrative of the Modern Turkish Historiography

Year 2016, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 259 - 273, 30.10.2016

Ramazan Aras

https://doi.org/10.19059/mukaddime.17539

Cited By: 1

Abstract

 This paper evaluates the oral history of the Assyrian/Syriac
community in Turkey as a counter-narrative in the formation of statist
historiography in the Republican era. It situates local oral histories within
the larger archival and historical literature on the Assyrian/Syriac
community. This paper emphasizes the importance of oral history studies
in the process of making a new historiographic approach and
understanding towards the past of diverse communities in Turkey. It
stresses the importance of life stories, family histories, memoirs,
architecture and other material cultural forms, oral traditions, and many
other narrative forms of this people in making a more representative
history. In taking this approach, this paper explains how oral history, as a
critical methodology, reveals those neglected aspects in the written
sources on modern history of Assyrian/Syriac community in Turkey.

Keywords

Oral history, historiography, memory, identity, Assyrians/Syriacs, Turkey

Çağdaş Türk Tarihyazımında Muhalif Bir Anlatı Olarak Süryani / Asuri Sözlü Tarihi

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de Süryani sözlü tarihini Cumhuriyet dönemi
devletçi tarihyazımına karşı muhalif bir anlatı olarak değerlendirmektedir.
Bu çalışma, sözlü ve yerel tarihleri Süryani toplumu üzerine yazılmış olan
daha geniş arşivin ve tarihsel literatürün içine yerleştirmektedir. Bu makale,
Türkiye’de farklı toplumların geçmişlerini anlama ve yeni bir tarihsel
yaklaşım geliştirme sürecinde sözlü tarih çalışmalarının önemini
vurgulamaktadır. Bu insanların hayat hikâyelerinin, aile tarihlerinin,
hatıratlarının, mimari ve diğer maddi kültür formlarının, sözlü
geleneklerinin ve diğer birçok anlatı formlarının önemine vurgu
yapmaktadır. Bu çalışma, eleştirel bir yöntem olarak sözlü tarihin
Türkiye’de modern Süryani tarihi üzerine yazılmış olan çalışmalarda ihmal
edilmiş olan birçok yönü ortaya nasıl çıkardığına işaret etmektedir.

Keywords

: Sözlü tarih, tarihyazımı, hafıza, kimlik, Süryaniler, Türkiye

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