Tracing Anxieties: American Missionary Schools in Turkey and the Figure of the Spy

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dc.contributorGirard, William
dc.contributorSteinfels, Amina
dc.contributor.advisorWatson, Matthew C.
dc.contributor.authorYildiz, Gunes
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-08T17:57:33Z
dc.date.available2025-07-08T17:57:33Z
dc.date.gradyear2025
dc.date.issued2025-07-08
dc.description.abstractApproximately 450 American missionary schools were established between the nineteenth century and the Ottoman Empire’s collapse. Currently, only five of them exist in the form of high schools and universities in the Republic of Turkey. During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamit (1876-1909), these schools were tightly controlled by the “Yıldız Intelligence Organization.” This led to the closure of many schools and the deportation of some missionaries on the grounds that they participated in spy work or instigated minority uprisings. Rumors and conspiracy theories about existing missionary schools persist today. In my research over the summer of 2024, I traced past and present anxieties, particularly those relating to accusations of espionage, through archival research, ethnographic interviews, and fieldwork. In this thesis, rather than proving or disproving such theories and allegations, I aim to examine how the figure of the spy has been socially constructed in the Turkish context.
dc.description.sponsorshipSociology & Anthropology
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10166/6756
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.rights.restrictedrestricted
dc.subjectAnthropology
dc.subjectOttoman Empire
dc.subjectMissionary schools
dc.subjectMiddle East
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subjectSpies
dc.subjectEspionage
dc.subjectConspiracy theories
dc.subjectAnxiety
dc.subjectRumors
dc.subjectGossip
dc.subjectNationalism
dc.subjectSecularism
dc.subjectArchives
dc.titleTracing Anxieties: American Missionary Schools in Turkey and the Figure of the Spy
dc.typeThesis
mhc.degreeUndergraduate
mhc.embargo.length7 years
mhc.institutionMount Holyoke College

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