Archaeology, Politics, and Orientalism in the Frame of Gender: ‘‘Sexless’’ness of Gertrude Bell

Abstract

Archaeology and politics have always interacted in history. Particularly in the East, orientalism has usually become an integral part of how the connections between them have been analyzed and interpreted. In this case, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) from England became an unusual figure with what she did in Iraq during her stay in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Besides her duties in the British government regarding archaeological activities and political matters, gender issues turned out to be a significant part of her experiences as a female. Although she came from a wealthy family and was highly educated, she was always aware of the masculinity and its boundaries for women regarding her position. In an attempt to overcome such barriers and earn herself a place in men’s world, especially in the workplace, she thought of herself as ‘‘sexless.’’ Accordingly, she developed a unique personality that combines masculine and feminine characteristics. Furthermore, with an orientalist approach, she advocated the imperial policies of the British in Iraq regarding archaeology and politics. However, she also worked on the perception of cultural heritage for the Iraqi people. Following qualitative research methods and analyzing Bell’s letters and diary entries as primary sources, this paper aims to explore how Bell’s ‘‘sexless’’ness was shaped and how she dealt with archaeology and politics during her stay in Iraq in the first quarter of the twentieth century, focusing on the relationship between archaeology and politics through orientalism in the frame of gender.

Keywords

• Gender
• Archaeology
• Politics

Toplumsal Cinsiyet Çerçevesinde Arkeoloji, Siyaset ve Oryantalizm: Gertrude Bell’in ‘‘Cinsiyetsiz’’liği

Öz

Arkeoloji ve siyaset tarih boyunca her zaman etkileşim halinde olmuştur. Özellikle Doğu'da oryantalizm, bunların aralarındaki bağlantıların nasıl analiz edilip yorumlandığının ayrılmaz bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Buna bağlı olarak, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), yirminci yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinde Irak'ta kaldığı süre boyunca yaptıklarıyla alışılmadık bir figür olmuştur. İngiliz hükümetindeki arkeolojik faaliyetler ve siyasi konularla ilgili görevlerinin yanı sıra, toplumsal cinsiyete dair yaşadığı sorunları bir kadın olarak deneyimlerinin önemli bir parçasına dönüşmüştür. Bell, zengin bir aileden gelmesine ve yüksek eğitimli olmasına rağmen, konumuyla ilgili olarak kadınlar için erkekliğin ve sınırlarının her zaman farkındaydı. Bu tür engelleri aşmak ve erkekler dünyasında, özellikle iş yerinde kendine bir yer edinmek için kendini ‘‘cinsiyetsiz’’ olarak düşünmüştü. Bu bağlamda, erkeksi ve kadınsı özelliklerden oluşan benzersiz kişiliğini geliştirdi. Ayrıca, oryantalist bir yaklaşımla, İngilizlerin Irak'taki arkeoloji ve siyasetle ilgili emperyal politikalarını savundu. Ancak, aynı zamanda Irak halkının kendi kültürel miras algısı üzerinde de çalışmalar yaptı. Bu makale, nitel araştırma yöntemleri kullanarak ve birincil kaynak olarak Bell’in kendi yazdığı mektuplarının ve ajanda yazılarının analizi üzerinden toplumsal cinsiyet çerçevesinde oryantalizm aracılığıyla arkeoloji ve siyaset arasındaki ilişkiye odaklanarak, Bell'in ‘‘cinsiyetsiz’’liğinin nasıl şekillendiğini ve onun yirminci yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinde Irak'ta kaldığı süre boyunca arkeoloji ve siyasetle nasıl başa çıktığını araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Toplumsal Cinsiyet
• Arkeoloji
• Siyaset

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