• "'Unveiling' The Tramway": The Intimate Public Sphere in Late Ottoman and Early Republican Istanbul

    Author(s):
    James Ryan (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Group(s):
    Islamicate Studies, Ottoman and Turkish Studies, Urban Studies
    Subject(s):
    Turkey, Public sphere, Transportation
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Gender history, Ottoman Empire, Public sphere theory, Urban history
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/7xtq-cm61
    Abstract:
    With the introduction of the horse-drawn tramway in 1871, the citizens of Istanbul were forced to reckon with a new type of public space—the crowded confines of the tramcar. This article focuses on the removal of a curtain that separated men and women on public transit in 1923, analyzing the discourses that shaped the decision and the way in which gendered discourses around public transit were altered at the outset of the Turkish Republic by the curtain’s removal. Building on the work of Lauren Berlant and Alev Çınar, I suggest that the tramcar constituted an intimate public sphere and site of negotiation in which citizens came to both confront and negotiate modern problems ranging from morality to fashion in a way that was functionally different from other public spaces.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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