Scientific Diaspora as Reformers: German-Jewish Scholars and Institutional Change in 1930s Türkiye

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Education in an International Context

Abstract

This paper investigates the structural characteristics of knowledge production in diaspora through a case study of three German scholars appointed during the early Republican university reform in Türkiye after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933. Avoiding a personalized or biographical approach, the study employs content analysis of autobiographical writings, biographies, press materials, and secondary literature. Grounded in elite diaspora theory, the research highlights how these scholars operated as reformist agents within their respective academic departments. Findings suggest that their contributions went beyond passive adaptation, reflecting strategic engagement with the host academic structures through the implementation of innovative pedagogical and institutional models that helped shape the early Turkish university system.

Author

• Seyma Aksoy, Yıldız Technical University Türkiye