The role of journalism in the renewal of Turkish literature: The Period of Regulation (1861-1896)

Abstract

The period of Tenzimat began in the mid-19th century in the Ottoman Empire and represents a process of modernization. This period began with the writing of Humayun Gulkhana proclaimed by Sultan Abdülmecid in 1839. The Tanzimat period was a period of various reforms in the Ottoman Empire and major changes took place in the social, political and economic spheres of Turkish language and literature. The Tanzimat period is seen as a reflection of the modernization efforts of the Ottoman Empire, and the reforms undertaken during this period were the cornerstone of the Ottoman reforms. Because Ottoman literature was located between Arabic and Persian literature, which are two major, widespread and advanced literatures influential in the region, Ottoman literature had little influence, so that it could not fit within the rule of the Ottoman Sultan. This led to the Ottoman Sultan's decision to organize the arts (Tanzimat Reforms) in 1839 during the reign of Sultan Abdul Majid. More than twenty years later, in the late 1860s, Turkish literature began to renew itself through newspapers and publications influenced by Western literature. During this period, the renewal of Turkish literature took bold steps through newspapers and several writers in various literary fields. This led to an increase in journalistic activities, especially during the Tanzim period, during which literature was renewed. Since newspapers could easily reach the public opinion, it made literary works circulate and changed the reading habits of the people. In addition, newspapers provided opportunities for writers’ ideas to be disseminated quickly. Thus, the writers drew attention and created awareness by writing articles critical of social problems. In this paper, we have discussed in detail several important topics of Turkish literature, journalism and literary renewal that writers and newspapers played a significant role in the development and renewal of literature. In addition, we have mentioned the beginning of the Tanzimat Reforms and renewal of literature through talented writers and newspapers, and then this renewal continued in several stages until the middle of the last century.