Reading the Construction of Identity in Academic Writings Through the Case of Mardin

Abstract

Today, in many spheres of life including architecture, “to have an identity” is considered to be an important qualification for anything, and the reverse is considered to be extrinsic. Particularly, “identity” is emerging as a theoretical obstacle / limiter in architectural education and also in the professional practice. Construction process of identity is possible to refer in field of architecture as in all human sciences. Identity is a subject which is hard to talk about, despite its quality of creating new controversy routes. While the research of humanities related to identity issues tend to refer to dichotomies, in the field of architecture it produces clichés. When the PhD and master thesis that are done in the field of architecture were made subject to textual analysis is thought that identities of architects, architectures, urban districts and buildings are all produced in similar pragmatics. This paper will focus on how academia- which is one of the identity constructing actors- constructs identities. In the study, examples about production of urban and buildings’ identification will be given. Thesis was written in Turkish academic institutes which included keywords of "architecture" and "identity" will be examined. Such research that has a small but effective cross-section is expected to reveal academia’s role in the production of identity. After identity constructions or productions of ideals in academia are tried to be explained through several examples, their impacts on the production of novelties will be discussed in the conclusion. What kinds of problems will emerge from interference to an urban area, a building or an object which is considered a production of architecture with identity rhetoric or engagements will be discussed. In this respect, if holiness references such as owning an identity or essence are being produced by academia, it is possible to talk boundaries about understanding and signification. Despite the studies that are made to bring architectural products identity into view, it is argued in this study that here is no hierarchical priority among the numerous combinations that form the identity.