Material culture as historical sources

In ancient Egypt the deceased were an integral part of the world of the living. The dead kin were perceived as extended family members and a bilateral relationship was developed between the two worlds. The deceased expected to receive from the living all the due rituals and offerings in order to ensure their well-being. Fulfilled all the needs of the dead, the living might expect their assistance and protection in everyday life problems. It's in the context of this relationship that we see emerge the ancestors' cult as an integral part, and with high relevance, of household religion, attested since the Middle Kingdom. The possible knowledge about this domestic religious practice results from both textual and material sources. It is the combination of texts, objects, and structures that makes possible for us to understand the motivations underlying this practice and where and how it was accomplished.

Bu makalede, Gezi Parkı olayları sırasında ve sonrasında Türkiye’deki performatif protesto eylemleri ve bu bağlamda performans sanatçılarının rolü üzerinde duracağım. Butler’ın “performativite” anlayışı aracılığıyla, Gezi’nin “performatif” protesto eylemlerinden bazılarının, yeni tiyatro oyunlarında da devamını gördüğümüz daha geniş çaplı bir kültürel dönüşüme nasıl tanıklık ettiğini açıklayacağım. Performans sanatçılarının bir dizi performatif eylem yoluyla Gezi’nin “taktiksel repertuarları”nın yanı sıra (Tilly, 1978), bir “duygu yapısı” (Williams, 1977) olarak Türkiye’deki protesto kültürünün ayrılmaz parçası haline gelmiş olan  ‘yeni’ bir performativite anlayışı aracılığıyla da Gezi’nin simgesel siyasetine (Sears, 1993) katkılarının yadsınamaz olduğu kanısındayım. Özellikle önemli bir performatif taktiği Peggy Phelan’ın “etkin gözden kayboluş” kavramına başvurarak açıklayacağım. Duran Adama tekrar dönerek ve bu eylemi Judith Butler’ın (2011) yorumladığı biçimiyle Hannah Arendt’in “görünüş alanı” kavramına bağlayarak da, fark edilmemiş kalmak ile tanınmamış kimliklere alan açma talep etmek arasında, şimdiye kadar dile getirilmemiş ancak  önemli bir ilişkiyi çözümlemeyi amaçlıyorum. Bunu yaparak, performatif protesto hareketlerini Türkiye'deki maddi muhalif kültürün ayrılmaz bir parçası olarak ele almanın yanı sıra, performatif protesto eylemlerini simgesel olarak okurken bunların kendine has toplumsal ve siyasi yönlerini göz ardı eden son dönem Tiyatro ve Performans Çalışmalarının da bir eleştirisini yapmayı amaçlıyorum.

In ancient Egypt the deceased were an integral part of the world of the living. The dead kin were perceived as extended family members and a bilateral relationship was developed between the two worlds.
This relationship was characterized by its interdependence. On one hand, the deceased expected to receive from the living all the due rituals and offerings in order to ensure their well-being. On the other hand, fulfilled all the needs of the dead, the living might expect their assistance and protection in everyday life problems.
Although the deceased expected from everyone the needed rituals and offerings the truth is that it was within the family that this obligation was more felt. It is in this context that we see emerge the ancestor cult as an integral part, and with high relevance, of household religion, attested since the Middle Kingdom.
The knowledge that we can have about this domestic religious practice results from both textual and material sources. It is the combination of texts, objects and structures that makes possible for us to understand the motivations underlying this practice and where and how it was accomplished.
This presentation aims to present these sources and demonstrate the information resulting from a joint analysis.