Nation, Memory and Music Education in the Republic of Turkey: A Hegemonic Analysis

In this chapter, we consider the relationship between music education and national identity through a chronological focus on the Republic of Turkey. We chart how theories of Turkey’s preeminent sociologist Ziya Gökalp provided the basis for a new, post-Ottoman Turkish nationalism and directly informed models of music education that were intended to establish the cultural hegemony of the dominant political elite, but which inadvertently positioned music education as a key site of struggle for cultural representation, memory and national identity for at least the next century. We contribute to the internationalisation of both sociology and music education, in two principal ways: firstly, we situate Gökalp’s work and legacy—little known outside of Turkey—in relation to mainstream European sociology by illustrating Durkheim’s influence on Gökalp’s concept of Turkishness, and consider its application through music education reform in terms of coercion and consent, within a Gramscian understanding of hegemony. Secondly, through this broader sociological framing of Turkish music education, together with close analysis of contemporary music education policy, we generate transferable insight concerning how music education can represent, shape and challenge national identity and official culture.