The iconography of Taksim square: competing claims on a public space

Abstract

This thesis focuses on Taksim Square in istanbul, which is one of the most significant public places in Turkey. What lends the site significance is the multitude of meanings and readings that have been attached to it. The continuous tension between competing representations of the place and alternate projects centering on its use and meaning tum the square into a 'contested space'. The research explores how different social and political actors seek to interpret the meaning(s) and use(s) of the square in different ways. It concurrently aims to demonstrate how this place is unceasingly remade and reconstructed through the ongoing struggle on its morphology and symbolism. The thesis deals with the discursive construction of space within a theoretical framework, which makes it possible to relate the spatial category with some concepts of cultural politics like social memory, collective identity, and national discourse.