Abstract
This chapter aims to make out how the orientalism that dominates and that reshapes the East as Western discourse affects the construction of Turkish image that is influenced by the new orientalism process, and how it has changed with the media. By studying the news and images about Turkey, it is purposed to analyze whether the otherization of Turkey in orientalist discourse that is generally established with different kinds of many bad images, expressions from past to now is still alive with all the images, discourses, expressions in the media, or whether it has started to acquire a different point of view in orientalism today, or not. In this study, it is possible to see the reconstruction of Turkish image and the general perception of the West about Turkey in the process of new orientalism that is reflected via the discourses, images, and expressions in the media by analyzing the news about tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean in the foreign press.
TopIntroduction
In this study, the orientalism that dominates and the reshapes the East as western discourse affects the construction of Turkish image that is influenced by the new orientalism process, changed with the media is planned to be analyzed. By studying the news and images about Turkey, It is purposed to see whether is the otherization of Turkey in orientalist discourse that is generally established with different kinds of many bad images, expressions from past to now still keeping alive with all the mages, discourses, expressions in the media, or not. Therefore, it is significant to make out what the orientalism includes in its research area, as there is no general definition about orientalism that is accepted by all researchers. It is mainly seen as all of the western-based and western-centered research areas where all Eastern societies and cultures, languages and peoples are examined within the studies, named as Orientalism and Oriental Studies. However, some orientalists, such as Edward Said define the orientalism in the field of a study area of people who are excluded by the Westerners, regarded as the “other” and thrown into the background in each environment with prejudice and hostile eyes, while western academics such as Bernard Lewis criticize these negative allusions, attributed to the word. As it is understood, the field of study of orientalism is interpreted in different ways.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Content Analysis: The content analysis is an analysis technique rather than an observation method. Content analysis results are presented in the form of percentage tables, as in searching researches. Content analysis is as a technique for analyzing and analyzing communication in a quantitative context, in order to measure systematic, objective and variables contains three concepts that require detailed elaboration.
Identity Construction: Identity is our main reference point that we organize and evaluate our relationships with the world, past, future, and other people. Identity is the most subjective existence of man.
Discourse Analysis: Discourse analysis is one of the most detailed discouses analysis method evaluate all the texts both textual and contextual level and it takes places at two sections: microstructure and macrostructure. The orientalism that dominates and the reshapes the East as western discourse affects the construction of Turkish image that is influenced by the new orientalism process, changed with the media is planned to be analyzedi by using discourse analysis in this study.
Orientalism: It is mainly seen as all of the western-based and western-centered research areas where all Eastern societies and cultures, languages and peoples are examined within the studies, named as Orientalism and Oriental Studies. However, some orientalists, such as Edward Said define the orientalism in the field of a study area of people who are excluded by the Westerners, regarded as the “other” and thrown into the background in each environment with prejudice and hostile eyes.
Tensions in Mediterranean: Turkey’s and Greece’s dispute in the eastern Mediterranean.
Otherness: Just because of their prejudiced perspectives, some societies marginalize others, by not even making an effort to get to know others. “Prejudices” which are constantly expressed in a society also cause a vicious circle in the society. As a result of the prejudices, imposed on them in the society they live in, people who are constantly excluded begin to behave according to the characteristics of the prejudices after a while. Because, people who have many negative characteristics unfairly have a feeling that acting according to prejudices will not affect the negative thoughts of their rights that are widespread in the society and they reorient their behavior and gradually fill the empty prejudices. Social psychologists who examine the effects of this situation on the “othering” group.
Turkish Image: The important examples about the Turkey and Turkish image is analyzed to make out whether is the otherization of Turkey in orientalist discourse that is generally established with different kinds of many bad images, expressions from past to now still keeping alive with all the mages, discourses, expressions in the media, or not.
Foreign Press: The news about Turkey in foreign press in October, The Independent (UK) are aimed to be analyzed to make out the establishment way of Turkish image.