Essay on "Culture There Are so Many Facets"

Essay 4 pages (1263 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Culture

There are so many facets of discourse when it comes to discussion matters of culture. What culture is and how it defines our lives is still an ongoing discussion, and varies dramatically in terms of different locations. Understanding similarities and differences between different presentations of cultural discussions can then help us understand how complex and abstract of an idea it is in the first place.

The first article to be examined here is titled "Entrapped in Multidimensional Exclusion: The Perpetuation of Poverty Among Conflict-Induced Migrants in an Istanbul Neighborhood" by Bediz Yilmaz in the 2008 edition of New Perspectives on Turkey. It is essentially an examination of the practice of cultural exclusion. The article takes a closer look at Tarlabasi, a neighborhood in Istanbul (Yilmaz 2008). It is so close to more affluent neighborhoods, yet so much more segregated in order to contain its undesirables from seeping into the mainstream society. Yilmaz states that "Tarlabasi generates fear, and the more it is stigmatized as such, the more its inhabitants are trapped in the vicious circle of social exclusion, the less choice they have, other than being involved in fear-generating activities," (Yilmaz 2008 p 26). Essentially, the mainstream majority of Turkish culture has segregated what it deems as undesirable elements in a single physical space. This allows the rest of Turkish society to avoid having contact with the urban poor, therefore allowing them to construct their image of their own culture that is devoid of a major portion of their own society. Here, the author shows a culture which has created social exclusion and special set up of particular neighborhoods to isolate the various groups within the larger society. There are a number of exclusionary dimensions, including: economic, social, political, and spatial elements. The neighborhood deals with huge cultural differences based on large populations of immigrants with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds than mainstream Turks; "namely, the conflict-induced Kurdish migrants who have settled in the neighborhood of Tarlabasi" (Yilmaz 2008 p 26). The degradation of a socioeconomic class based on exclusionary practices of the larger majority society.

Through this segregation, mainstream Turkish society is isolating itself from what it sees as cultureless and taboo. Overall, Yilmaz shows that the majority of Turkish society sees culture as a more up-scale thing. In this, culture is a luxury that only more affluent Turks are supposed to be able to enjoy, leaving urban poor neighborhoods to suppose to be devoid of culture entirely. Therefore, the majority of society thinks that lower class neighborhoods, like the one discussed in the article, are innately devoid of culture (Yilmaz 2008). However, in its isolated segregation, Tarlabasi has created its own subculture that features a number of elements often seen as taboo by the majority society, but is a necessity in the neighborhood itself. This neighborhood has developed its own fluid underground culture that often features what the mainstream society would deem as criminal or taboo, but is necessary in such a poor neighborhood to survive. Through this discussion, it is clear that Yilmaz is showing the fluidity of culture and its ability to evolve and morph under changing circumstances. Therefore, culture is a fluid and adaptable element to modern societies, and will flourish in even the most extreme circumstances.

The second article is written by Ayfur Bartu Candan and Biray Kolluoglu (2008) also regarding social segregation practices in modern day Turkey. It is entitled "Emerging Spaces of Neoliberalism: A Gated Town and a Public Housing Project and was also featured in the journal New Perspectives on Turkey. The article is very similar to the first examined here, as it also explores particular locations within modern Turkey, including the more affluent Gokturk and the lower socioeconomic neighborhood of Bezirganbahce (Candan & Kolluoglu 2008). The authors show… READ MORE

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