1950'li Yıllarda Türkiye'de Gündelik Hayatta Yaşanan Dönüşümler: Adana İli Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

In addition to undergoing a significant change in politics by making the transition to the multiparty system, in the 1950s Turkey also experienced great changes and transformations in everyday life. In this period, pro-American policies led by the Democratic Party resonated in everyday life and by adopting the American values under the roof of modernization the society began to evolve into a consumer society. In this context, there was a transformation that can be called as the Americanization in everyday life from food and beverage to clothing; from durable consumer goods to entertainment and music. Adana was one of the places where this social transformation of Turkey in the 1950s was most clearly visible. The most important factor that explains why Adana felt the changes experienced in this period so deeply is the establishment of the Incirlik Base in there. American soldiers on duty in Incirlik Base and their families lived with Adana people for a long time. Thereby, the people of Adana had direct interaction with the American lifestyle. In this study, these changes that were experienced in Turkey and especially in Adana in the 1950s and that can be called as modernization will be read within Lefebvre’s theoretical framework. Lefebvre stated that everyday life emerges with modernity and it is a feature of the modern capitalist societies. In Turkey, the 1950s was a period where everyday life that is a feature of the capitalist consumer societies and that emerges with modernity could be observed. In this respect, the 1950s of Turkey can be evaluated in the framework of Lefebvre. Oral history, a method that focuses on the lives of ordinary people and their memories and experiences is chosen to make this evaluation. Concordantly, the changes in everyday life practices, food and beverage, clothing, entertainment, and music in Adana especially with the influence of the Americans of the Incirlik Base are identified. In addition, it is shown that the undocumented experiences of ordinary people can also become a source of history through the method of oral history.