DE-MONSTRATING BODIES, BESTIAL MACHINES - THE POSTHUMAN IN HALİD ZİYA UŞAKLIGİL’S SHORT STORIES

Aug 20, 2026

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This thesis explores posthuman figurations in Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil’s four short stories—“Sevda-yı Sengîn”, “Kadın Pençesi”, “Mösyö Kanguru”, and “Kırık Oyuncak”—through comparative and intermedial lenses. It investigates how boundaries between the human and the posthuman are constructed and whether posthumanization solidifies or dissolves these limits. Using ancient Greek myth figures such as Pygmalion and Medusa, it revisits nineteenth-century narrations interwoven with dance, cinema, art, and poetry to understand and reshape oppressive social structures, while examining posthuman entanglement with nature and culture across fiction and reality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages106

Reading Time2 h 43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Posthuman figurations and boundary-making

Mythological frameworks and intermedial narrations

Art, literature, and social structures

Entanglement with nature and culture

GAMZE ALTINYAPRAK DE-MONSTRATING BODIES, BESTIAL MACHINES : THE POSTHUMAN IN HAL SHORT STORIESİD ZİYA U ŞAKLIGİL’S - Bilkent University 2022 DE-MONSTRATING BODIES, BESTIAL MACHINES: THE POSTHUMAN IN HALİD ZİYAUŞAKLIGİL’S SHORT STORIES A Master’s Thesis by Gamze Altınyaprak Department of Turkish Literature İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Ankara December 2022 To Mahsa Amini DE-MONSTRATING BODIES, BESTIAL MACHINES: THE POSTHUMAN IN HALİD ZİYA UŞAKLIGİL’S SHORT STORIES The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by GAMZE ALTINYAPRAK In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN TURKISH LITERATURE THE DEPARTMENT OF TURKISH LITERATURE İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA December 2022 ABSTRACT DE-MONSTRATING BODIES, BESTIAL MACHINES: THE POSTHUMAN IN HALİD ZİYA UŞAKLIGİL’S SHORT STORIES Altınyaprak, Gamze M.A., Department of Turkish Literature Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı Co-Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Altuğ December 2022 This thesis explores the posthuman figurations in Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil’s four short stories,“Sevda-yı Sengîn”,“Kadın Pençesi”,“Mösyö Kanguru”, and “Kırık Oyuncak” in comparative and intermedial contexts. The thesis asks the question of how the boundaries between the human and posthuman are constructed, and whether the posthumanization is strengthened or melted these boundaries. For the answers, we visit ancient Greek mythological figures such as Pygmalion and Medusa and come back to the nineteenth century’s narrations that intermingled with dance, cinema, art, and poetry. These art forms and texts help us understand and change today’s narratives and social structures that oppress others. This thesis also explores the posthuman entanglement with nature and culture in and out of the realms of fiction/reality achromatically while all sorts of forming in texts bend the fixations. Keywords: Gender Studies, Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Humanism-Posthumanism, Intermediality, Patriarchy ÖZET CANAVARLAŞARAK GÖRÜNÜM KAZANAN BEDENLER, HAYVANİ MAKİNELER: HALİD ZİYAUŞAKLIGİL’İN ÖYKÜLERİNDE İNSANÖTESİ (POSTHÜMAN) Altınyaprak, Gamze M.A., Department of Turkish Literature Advisor: Doçent Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı Co-Advisor: Doçent Dr. Fatih Altuğ December 2022 Bu tez Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil'in "Sevda-yı Sengîn", "Kadın Pençesi", "Mösyö Kanguru" ve"Kırık Oyuncak" adlı dört öyküsündeki insanötesi (posthüman) figürasyonları karşılaştırmalı ve medyalararası bir bağlamda incelemektedir. Tez, insan (hüman) ileinsanötesi (posthüman) arasındaki sınırların nasıl inşa edildiğini sorguluyor. Aynı zamanda bu sınırların posthümanizasyon süreciyle sıkılaştığını mı yoksa gevşediğini miaraştırıyor. Cevaplar için Pygmalion ve Medusa gibi antik Yunan mitolojik figürlerini ziyaret edip on dokuzuncu yüzyılın dans, sinema, sanat ve şiirle iç içe geçmiş anlatılarına geri dönüyor. Bu sanat formları ve metinler, günümüzün ötekini ezen anlatılarını vetoplumsal yapılarını anlamamıza ve değiştirmemize yardımcı oluyor. Bu tez aynı zamanda kurgu/gerçeklik âlemlerinin içinde ve dışında, doğa ve kültürle insanötesi iç içeliğini akromatik olarak araştırırken, metinlerdeki her türlü biçimlendirmesaplantılarını esnetiyor. Anahtar Kelimeler: Ataerki, Cinsiyet Çalışmaları, Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, İnsanİnsanötesilik (Hümanism-Posthumanism), Medyalararasılık ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My first and the most heartfelt gratitude are to my co-advisor Fatih Altuğ: I cannot thank you enough for helping me complete my thesis with your self-abnegation. I am more than thankful tomy advisor Mehmet Kalpaklı for his patience and guidance. I am also grateful to Hacer Esra Almas ve Şima İmşir for accepting to be the examining committee member: Thank you for your valuable comments and suggestions. I would like to show appreciation to my previous advisor, Peter J. Cherry. I learned a lot from your courses, and they help me structu

FAQs

Which four short stories are analyzed in the thesis?

The thesis analyzes “Sevda-yı Sengîn”, “Kadın Pençesi”, “Mösyö Kanguru”, and “Kırık Oyuncak”. It studies them in comparative and intermedial contexts.

How does the thesis address the human–posthuman boundary?

It asks how the boundaries between the human and the posthuman are constructed and whether posthumanization strengthens or melts those boundaries.

What role do art forms and mythological figures play in the analysis?

The study uses ancient Greek mythological figures such as Pygmalion and Medusa, then returns to nineteenth-century narrations intermingled with dance, cinema, art, and poetry to interpret and influence oppressive narratives and social structures.

Aug 20, 2026

Upload by Aditya