Osmanlı’dan Erken Cumhuriyet’e Darülfünun: Eğitim ve Toplumsal Yapıdaki Değişimler
Tanzimat ile birlikte modernleşme yolunda atılan adımlar hız kazanmaya başlamıştır. Batı tarzı bilimsel eğitim verme gayesiyle 1863 tarihinde Darülfünun’un açılmasıyla eğitimde modernleşme hareketi başlamış ve toplumda çeşitli yankılar uyandırmıştır. Halka açık konferanslarla faaliyetlerine başlayan Darülfünun çeşitli sebeplerle üç kere kapanmış ve son olarak Darülfünun-u Şahane ismiyle 1900 yılında kurulmuş ve 1933 Üniversite Reformu’yla İstanbul Üniversitesi’ne dönüşene kadar varlığını sürdürmüştür. Darülfünun bir eğitim kurumu olmasının ötesinde modernleşme ve Batılılaşma sürecinde hem Osmanlı hem de erken Cumhuriyet döneminde toplumsal yapı üzerinde önemli etkileri olan bir kurum olmuştur. Bu çalışmada Osmanlı ve erken Cumhuriyet Darülfünunlarının toplumsal yapı üzerindeki etkileri analiz edilecektir. Osmanlı döneminde Darülfünun batıcı ve modernleşmeci olması dolayısıyla, erken Cumhuriyet döneminde ise batı ve modernleşme karşıtı olması dolayısıyla eleştiriler almıştır. Batı tarzında eğitim alacak gençler aracılığıyla Osmanlı Devleti’nin ilerlemesinin amaçlandığı Darülfünun’un varlığı, kuruluş döneminde medrese eğitimi alan kişiler ve medrese hocalarının eleştirilerine maruz kalmış ve toplumda ikiliğin ortaya çıkmasına sebep olmuştur. Darülfünun sadece gençlerin modern bilimi öğrenmeleri değil aynı zamanda siyasetten uzak durmaları amacı da gütmüştür. Darülfünun’un toplumsal yapıya olan etkilerinden bir diğeri de kadınların yükseköğretimde öğrenim almalarına vesile olmasıdır. Bu durum, kadının toplumsal yapıdaki yerinin yeniden şekillenmesinde etkili olmuştur. Erken Cumhuriyet döneminde ise Darülfünun Osmanlı mirası olması sebebiyle Batı standartlarında bir üniversite olarak kabul edilmemiştir. 1933 Üniversite Reformu’yla üniversite hocalarının üçte ikisi tasfiye edilmiş, Darülfünun, laik ve modern bir toplum oluşturma önünde engel olarak görülmüştür.
Darülfünun from the Ottoman to the Early Republican Period: Changes in Education and Social Structure
With the Tanzimat, the steps towards modernisation began to gain momentum. The establishment of Darülfünun in 1863, aimed at providing Western-style scientific education, marked the beginning of the modernisation movement in education and triggered various reactions in society. Darülfünun, which initially started its activities with public lectures, was closed three times for various reasons and was finally reopened in 1900 under the name “Darülfünun-u Şahane.” It continued to exist until it was transformed into Istanbul University following the 1933 University Reform. Beyond being an educational institution, Darülfünun had a significant impact on the social structure during both the Ottoman and early Republican periods, playing a crucial role in the modernisation and Westernisation process. This study will analyse the effects of Darülfünun in the Ottoman and early Republican eras on the social structure. In the Ottoman period, Darülfünun was criticised for being Westernising and modernising, while in the early Republican period, it faced criticism for being anti-Western and resistant to modernisation. The existence of Darülfünun, which sought to advance the Ottoman Empire through young people educated in the Western style, provoked criticism from madrasa educated individuals and teachers, leading to the emergence of a dichotomy in society. Darülfünun’s goal was not only to educate young people in modern science but also to keep them away from politics. One of the significant impacts of Darülfünun on the social structure was the participation of women in higher education.
With the Tanzimat, the steps towards modernisation began to gain momentum. The establishment of Darülfünun in 1863, aimed at providing Western-style scientific education, marked the beginning of the modernisation movement in education and triggered various reactions in society. Darülfünun is an institution that had significant effects on the social structure in both the Ottoman and early Republican periods during the modernisation and Westernisation process. It has been understood that the success of the modernisation efforts made in the 18th century to eliminate the weakness in the military field depended on the changes that needed to be made in other areas. The modernisation movement that started with the Tanzimat gave birth to new organisations in the bureaucracy and therefore new civil servant cadres. The need to establish Darülfünun arose due to reasons such as the inability of military schools to meet this cadre need, the inadequacy of the old-fashioned master-apprentice method, and the costs of sending students abroad and importing technology and technicians from abroad.
In this study, the effects of Darülfünun in the Ottoman and Early Republican periods on the social structure will be examined. Although the names of the Ottoman and Republican Period Darülfünun are the same and are a continuation of each other, there are differences in the way they are perceived due to the changes in the social structure and regime. While the modernisation activities carried out in the Ottoman period were carried out in the form of transferring Western culture, the modernisation activities carried out with the revolutions made in the Republican period tried to bring about cultural change. For this reason, the way in which Darülfünun was perceived within the system differed according to the period.
During the Ottoman period, the Darülfünun caused a conflict between traditional and modern institutions. It also helped to increase the visibility of women in social life and raise their level of education. The modernisations and westernizations ideas that became widespread during the Tanzimat and Constitutional Monarchy periods caused significant changes and transformations in social life.
While it was a reform carried out to save the homeland, it was also the planner and constructor of salvation. Darülfünun contributed to the maturation of the westernising mindset brought about by the Tanzimat period by nurturing social issues such as social equality, freedom and women’s rights.
During the Ottoman period, Darülfünun had various effects on the social structure. First, as an institution outside the traditional educational institutions that were already present in the social structure, it contributed to the emergence of the dichotomy of madrasah-school students. Since its establishment, Darülfünun has been a part of the efforts to eliminate the difficult conditions that the Ottoman state was in and the steps taken to save the homeland. Ottoman society was introduced to scientific knowledge with Darülfünun, and since its first opening, the physics, chemistry, natural sciences and history courses have attracted great interest from the public. However, concerns that the experiments conducted in the courses or some statements contradicted religious beliefs and values led to reactions. These concerns became the focus of critical views towards Darülfünun, and during the Ottoman period, Darülfünun attracted the reactions of the ulema and the public influenced by them by claiming that it was outside the traditional structure. It contributed to the emergence of the dichotomy of madrasah-school students in society. It stood out as an institution outside the traditional educational institutions that were already present in the social structure. The fact that students who will be accepted to Darülfünun are required to come from modern educational institutions and therefore those who are educated in madrasahs are not accepted and that the teachers who will teach in Darülfünun are carefully selected to be people who have received education abroad or foreign teachers clearly reveals the duality. The fact that the courses and textbooks given in Darülfünun and madrasahs are different has revealed the existence of people with opposing worldviews and deepened the distinction between those who are educated in Darülfünun and those who are educated in madrasahs. A period of being stuck between a mindset that supports Westernisation and a mindset that is committed to traditional values has occurred.
One of the effects of Darülfünun on social life is that it has contributed to the increase in the visibility of women. Before the establishment of Darülfünun, the new ideas that were widespread and accepted during the Tanzimat and Constitutional periods, the various rights granted to women caused the demand for higher education to mature and subsequently, İnas Darülfünun was established. The aim of those who demanded the establishment of İnas Darülfünun was actually similar to the aim of establishing Darülfünun, which was to save the homeland. Since it was believed that saving the country could not be achieved without women and that mothers were the ones who raised the new generation who would serve in the salvation of the country, women’s education began to be considered important. Another effect seen in social life was that women who received education in modern educational institutions started to take part in working life. With the increase in the schooling rate, taking part in state positions could spread to a wider social base.
During the Ottoman period, Darülfünun was criticised for being outside of traditions and was considered too modern and westernising, while the Darülfünun of the early Republican period was criticised for being against modernisation and not supporting the revolutions. The fact that the same institution receives criticism in opposite directions is, of course, directly related to the change in the regime type and the change in the perspective on modernisation and westernisation. What is striking is the difference in the source of the criticism directed at the two different periods. While the reaction to Darülfünun in the Ottoman period came from the people and the ulema, it came directly from the statecraft in the Republican period.
In the early Republican period, the ideology of creating national consciousness and national identity caused the severing of ties with institutions and individuals who opposed or did not support the revolutions. Unlike the westernisation and modernisation movements in the Ottoman period, the transformation of social life was targeted in the Republican period.
