The Reconstruction of Turkish National Identity in the Television Series Payitaht Abdulhamid

• In Event: 41021 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Roundtable 20: Critical Media Studies

Abstract

This research project explores how the Turkish historical drama Payitaht Abdulhamid contributes to the reconstruction of a particular Turkish national identity that merges religious and nationalist narratives and how this relates to the neo-Ottomanist vision of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Through the use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Semiotic Analysis, it analyses the portrayal of Sultan Abdulhamid II as a symbolic unifier of Islam and Turkish/Ottoman nationalism and situates him in opposition to the internal and external threats to his regime, such as the Young Turk and Zionist movements. This study contextualises Payitaht Abdulhamid within the broader political and ideological strategies employed by the AKP, mainly its neo-Ottomanist vision that highlights the continuity between the Ottoman past and Turkey’s present, instrumentalising history to redefine national identity. The project concludes by addressing limitations regarding the sample size, suggesting an additional comparative study with other similar series. Finally, the paper suggests further research into production and audience reception as the two other major domains of media and communication research.

Author

• Ada Bayramoglu, University of Edinburgh