Dissolution of craft in the context of ethnicity, gender and class: Gold and silversmithing in Mardin and Trabzon, Turkey

---

Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Sosyoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2018

Öğrenci: MEHTAP TOSUN

Danışman: HATİCE AYŞE HOŞGÖR

Özet:

The aim of this thesis is to examine dissolution of craft of gold and silversmithing in Mardin and Trabzon that are the cities of Turkey by focusing on boundaries between state politics, ethnicity, class and gender result of the social and historical processes of Turkey. This study is based on the assumption that reasons of dissolution of the craft include historical turning points that pave the way for modernization, nation-state formation, and advance of industrialization. Taking these arguments as a starting point, this study traces the mechanisms of dissolution of craft-based production in terms of boundaries of state power, ethnicity, class and gender. Within aforementioned these dynamics, the study explores both dissolution of craft of gold and silver smithing, and also survivor strategies of craftspeople of this craft in Mardin and Trabzon. In line with this aim, semi-structured, in-depth and life story interviews were held with the gold-silver craftspeople in Mardin and Trabzon, and the research findings serve as the primary source of information for this study. Based on these interviews, the study claimed that the nation-state formation, capitalist modernization and advance of industrialization both lead to formation of ethnic, gender and class boundaries in craft, and also accelerate dissolution of the craft. As a result, this research aims to present a different perspective to the mainstream of craft history of Turkey -the dominant view that relates the dissolution of the craft only to the progress of the advances in industry-by exploring reasons of dissolution of gold-silver smithing in Mardin and Trabzon.