People Houses

Abstract

One of the important building blocks of the science of history is institutional historical research. In this context, this branch of science and its building blocks are nothing but the transfer of obsolete traces of historical facts and events to meaningful information. In the Turkish state administration, which has a deep-rooted administrative tradition, institutions and organizations that date back centuries have their own social, historical, administrative and cultural reasons for emergence. The book introduced here deals with one of these cultural institutions. Founded as a cultural institution in the early years of the Republic, Halkevleri emerged as a result of the social and cultural change process of the period. From February 19, 1932, when they were founded, until 1951, when they were officially closed down, Halkevleri constituted an important milestone in social development. Unfortunately, popular debates on the subject have been used as a tool for contemporary social and political divisions rather than revealing a historical truth. In such debates, both the decisions taken and the decision-makers become the subjects of a political fight and showdown. Issues specific to such institutions, which should be the subject of history or political science, are instrumentalized for a number of different concerns and purposes, causing erroneous theses to be put forward. Based on these reasons, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Özer states that the purpose of writing the book was born out of the realities of the 1930s "in line with certain objectives of the People's Houses, one of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's important projects". In addition, the author states that the purpose of writing the book is "to explain, understand and interpret the contributions of the 14 Halkevleri, which started to operate in 1932, to the Turkish modernization process in a healthier way in accordance with the spirit of the time, based on the sources of the period".

The book titled "Halkevleri" is essentially a summarized version of a doctoral study. The People's Houses, which became an institution to provide all kinds of social and cultural needs of the people, and emerged as a movement aiming to modernize the Turkish nation and increase cultural awareness, focused on education, culture and social activities and completed its mission with the Law No. 5830 adopted in 1951 and was closed down. In his study titled "Halkevleri", Dr. Özer examines the process from the birth of the Halkevleri movement to its closure and reveals the effects of political and ideological changes in Turkey in this work. Emphasizing that the Halkevleri movement was a transition in Turkey's social, cultural and political evolution, this work examines in detail the purpose of the movement, its activities and the process of its closure.