Faces of Alevi identity in the post-1990 period

Abstract

Bu calisma, Turkiye'de Alevi kimliklerinin farkli ifade bicimlerini esas alarak, insanlarin dislanma deneyimleri baglaminda kimliklerini nasil kurduklarini sorguluyor. Temel olarak arastirmanin odagi literaturde ?Aleviligin yeniden canlandigi? bir donem olarak da ifade edilen 1990 sonrasindaki surecte Alevi kimliklerinin nasil uretildikleridir. Istanbul'da yasayan 28 Aleviyle yapilmis derinlemesine mulakatlar sonucunda, 1990 sonrasi donemin Alevi meselesiyle ilgili iki farkli anlatisi oldugu gorulur: Bu anlatilardan ilki 1990 sonrasi donemi Alevilerin kendilerini daha rahat ifade edebildikleri bir donem olarak tanimlarken, ikincisi 1990'lardaki gelismelerin Aleviligin asimilasyonunu hizlandirdigini vurgular. Calisma, anlatilardaki bu farklilasmayi insanlarin gundelik yasamlarinda dislanmayi deneyimleme bicimlerinin farklilasmasiyla aciklar. Pierre Bourdieu'nin saha analizinin ve Margaret Somers'in kimligi kisisel anlatilar baglaminda inceleyen teorisinin de yardimiyla, arastirmanin temel savi farkli dislanma deneyimlerinin 1990 sonrasi donemde ortaya cikan farkli Alevi kimliklerinin olusumunda merkezi bir rol oynadigidir.

This study mainly questions the multiplicity of Alevi identities by asking how people form their identities on the basis of the daily encounters of exclusion. Basically, the research focuses on how Alevi identity is produced and reproduced through the transformations of the post-1990 period, the so-called period of ?Alevi revival,? in Turkey. Based on 28 in-depth interviews with Alevi respondents living in Istanbul, this study shows that there are basically two different ways of telling the story of the post-1990 period in terms of the Alevi issue: In the first way of narration, post-1990 period appears as a time span which has enabled Alevis to be organized and to gain public visibility. In the second way of narration the period is described as a process which accelerated the assimilation of Alevis. The study argues that this difference is caused by the kind of exclusion that the respondents experienced in their daily lives. Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu?s field analysis and Margaret Somers? narrative analysis of identity, this study shows that different ways of experiencing exclusion is central for the emergence of multiple Alevi identities in the post 1990 period in Turkey.