The Social, Cultural, and Religious Education Impacts of the Dârülfünun
In the mid-20th century, Dârülfünun, established as a higher education institution, played a significant role in the realms of education, culture, and social transformation within Ottoman society. It promoted critical thinking, advocated for academic freedom, and contributed to the advancement of women’s education. By addressing the shortage of Turkishlanguage textbooks and strengthening academic publishing, it played a pioneering role in the dissemination of scientific thought. Serving as a bridge between the traditional medrese system and contemporary universities, Dârülfünun integrated traditional education with a modern scientific approach. The “Ulûm-i Âliye-i Dîniyye Branch” of Dârülfünûn-ı Şâhâne, established in 1900 and regarded as the precursor to the Faculty of Theology, approached the religious sciences through philosophical and scientific methods. This structure was designed as an academic alternative to the medrese system. Such an approach contributed to Ottoman-Turkish modernisation and laid the groundwork for the recognition of religious education as a scientific discipline. With the 1933 University Reform, Dârülfünun was transformed into Istanbul University, gaining a formal institutional identity and playing a critical role in shaping the educational policies of the Republic. The objective of this study is to examine the social and cultural impacts of Dârülfünun, one of the major educational reforms implemented in the late Ottoman period to prevent imperial decline. While Dârülfünun functioned primarily as an educational institution, it also exerted considerable social and cultural influence. The limited number of studies exploring these dimensions enhances the significance of this research and indicates its potential contribution to the academic literature. This study adopts a qualitative research design and uses document analysis as its primary data collection method.
Dârülfünun’un Toplumsal, Kültürel ve Din Eğitimi Açısından Etkileri
20. yüzyılın ortalarında bir yükseköğretim kurumu olarak açılan Dârülfünun, Osmanlı toplumunda eğitim, kültür ve toplumsal dönüşüm açısından önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Bu eğitim kurumu, eleştirel düşünceyi teşvik ederek akademik özgürlüğü savunmuş, kadınların eğitimi konusunda da ilerleme kaydedilmesine vesile olmuştur. Ayrıca, Türkçe ders kitapları konusundaki yetersizlikleri gidererek akademik yayıncılığı güçlendirmiş ve bilimsel düşüncenin yaygınlaşmasına öncülük etmiştir. Medrese ile günümüz üniversiteleri arasında köprü vazifesi gören Dârülfünûn, geleneksel eğitimi modern bilim anlayışıyla meczetmiştir. 1900 yılında kurulan ve İlahiyat Fakültesi’nin başlangıcı olarak kabul edilen “Dârülfünûn-ı Şâhâne’deki Ulûm-i Âliye-i Dîniyye Şubesi”, din bilimlerini felsefi ve bilimsel yöntemlerle ele almış, medrese sisteminden farklı bir akademik yapı olarak tasarlanmıştır. Bu yaklaşım, Osmanlı-Türk modernleşmesine katkı sağlarken din eğitiminin bir bilim dalı olarak kabul edilmesine de zemin hazırlamıştır. 1933 Üniversite Reformu ile İstanbul Üniversitesi’ne dönüşerek kurumsal bir yapı kazanan Dârülfünûn, Cumhuriyet’in eğitim anlayışının şekillenmesinde de önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Araştırmamızın amacı, Osmanlı’nın çöküşünü önlemek için yaptığı eğitim reformlarından biri olan Dârülfünûn’un sosyal ve kültürel etkilerini araştırmaktır. Dârülfünûn’un yalnızca bir eğitim kurumu olmanın ötesinde toplumsal ve kültürel etkilerinin de olduğu bilinmektedir. Dârülfünûn’un toplumsal ve kültürel etkilerine ilişkin araştırmaların sınırlı olması, bu çalışmanın önemini artırmakta ve literatüre katkı sağlayacağı öngörülmektedir. Çalışmamız, nitel bir araştırma olarak tasarlanmış olup, veri toplama aracı olarak doküman analizi yöntemine başvurulmuştur.
Dârülfünûn, recognised as one of the most comprehensive and foundational educational reforms in the late Ottoman Empire, stands not only as the first institutionalised form of higher education but also as a multidimensional structure at the intersection of social, cultural, and religious transformation. In this context, Dârülfünûn, with its institutional identity distinct from the classical madrasa tradition, emerged as a critical arena of transformation that shaped Ottoman-Turkish modernisation at both intellectual and ideological levels. This study aims to analyse the structural ruptures it induced within the Ottoman educational system, its impact on social change, and its unique position in the field of religious education through a historical lens. A qualitative research design was employed, using document analysis based on relevant literature as the primary method of data collection. During its foundational and classical periods, the Ottoman madrasa system featured a broad curriculum inclusive of rational sciences such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy. However, from the 17th century onward, the gradual exclusion of these disciplines from the curriculum led to intellectual stagnation and a decline in scholarly output. This intellectual crisis prompted Ottoman administrators in the mid19th century to pursue substantial educational reforms. Although several initiatives aimed at establishing higher education institutions were undertaken from 1845 onwards, these efforts failed to achieve long-term institutionalisation. It was not until the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, in 1900, that Dârülfünûn-ı Şâhâne was established as a permanent institution embodying a modern scientific worldview, thereby securing a distinctive place in the history of Ottoman education.
The establishment of Dârülfünûn represented more than the creation of a higher education institution; it signified a paradigmatic shift in the Ottoman society’s relationship with knowledge. Unlike traditional madrasas, Dârülfünûn was constructed on an academic model compatible with positivist scientific thought, fostering interdisciplinary transitions and prioritising public knowledge production.
Following the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era (II. Meşrutiyet), educational policies underwent a period of reconstruction, and the inclusion of disciplines such as history, literature, and philosophy into the curriculum transformed Dârülfünûn into an institutional carrier of intellectual pluralism. A noteworthy development during this period was the admission of women to higher education. The establishment of the Women’s Dârülfünûn (İnas Dârülfünûnu) not only marked a pedagogical turning point but also redefined gender relations within the educational domain. Within the context of debates on coeducation, this milestone catalysed a broader sociocultural transformation concerning women’s right to education. The inclusion of women in academic life contributed to change not only at an individual level but also in the collective social consciousness.
The political and social influence of Dârülfünûn became particularly pronounced during the Second Constitutional Era and the Turkish War of Independence. Student-led protests and the active engagement of faculty members in public discourse transformed the university into a site of political awareness and civic consciousness. Within this context, Ziya Gökalp’s work at Dârülfünûn emphasised the university’s role not merely as a transmitter of knowledge but as a key intellectual engine in the process of nationbuilding. For Gökalp, the university functioned as a cultural institution central to the construction of the national identity.
In cultural terms, Dârülfünûn—especially through its Faculty of Literature—played a central role in laying the intellectual foundations of the modern Turkish identity. Academic endeavours in the fields of language, history, and literature facilitated the reinterpretation of national identity within a framework of historical continuity. With the 1933 University Reform, Dârülfünûn was formally closed and replaced by Istanbul University. This reform introduced a academic structure in the humanities that was grounded in interdisciplinarity and humanist principles. The resulting intellectual climate, influenced by Western philological traditions, became the cornerstone of what came to be known as “Turkish Humanism.”
From the perspective of religious education, Dârülfünûn represented the first modern institutional model that departed from the classical madrasa system and addressed the religious sciences through philosophical and scientific methodologies. The School of Advanced Religious Studies (Ulûm-i Âliye-i Dîniyye), established in 1900, offered a diverse curriculum that included classical Islamic disciplines such as tafsir (Qur’anic exegesis), hadith, kalam (Islamic theology), and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), alongside philosophy, history of religions, ethics, and Western languages. The establishment of the Faculty of Theology in 1924 continued this multidisciplinary and analytical approach although it was dissolved as part of the 1933 reform. The institutional continuity of religious education was only re-established in 1992 with the reopening of the faculty.
In conclusion, Dârülfünûn was not only a landmark in the history of higher education in the Ottoman Empire but also a pivotal institution at the heart of social, cultural, and religious transformation. Serving as a bridge between the madrasa and the modern university, it occupied a critical position at the historical juncture where academic thought and the state’s relationship with knowledge were redefined. In this regard, Dârülfünûn constitutes an indispensable reference point for understanding the ideological, epistemological, and cultural dimensions of education in Turkey.
