The Production of Social Space: The Encounter of Syrians and Sanliurfans in the City of Sanliurfa
Author: Recep Baydemir, recepbaydemir@outlook.com
Department: Migration Studies / Geography Department
University: Harran University, Turkey
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sedat Benek
Year of completion: 2023
Language of dissertation: Turkish
Keywords:
Social Space
, Relational Space
, Syrians and Sanliurfans
, Encounter Crises
Areas of Research:
Migration
, Comparative Sociology
, Social Transformations and Sociology of Development
Abstract
In spaces where human communities meet and intertwine, space brings people physically closer to each other and provides contact and interaction. Space not only brings people together and increases population density (quantitatively), but also intensifies relationships (qualitatively). It is reproduced as a result of these relations. For this reason, in this study, the theories of relational space and social space are placed at the center, by making a critical reading on the daily life experiences of those who have used a certain space before and those who have migrated to this place. It aims to understand the role of the phenomenon of migration in the reproduction of space. This study focuses on the points of “harmony” and “conflict” between the two peoples in the spaces where Syrians and people from Sanliurfa meet and intertwine, and how they produce social space. In this study based on field research, a mixed method which combines quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques, was used. In the study, observation, interview, questionnaire and in-depth interview techniques were used together. Accordingly, the research is based on a semi-structured questionnaire applied to a total of 720 people, 360 of whom are from Sanliurfa and 360 of whom are Syrians, randomly selected in 45 neighborhoods located in the urban area of Haliliye and Eyyübiye central districts of Sanliurfa. It is based on interviews with the headmen of 37 neighborhoods where Syrians live relatively heavily, and in-depth interviews with a total of 10 people, 5 from Sanliurfa and 5 from Syrians. Sanliurfa city is one of the leading cities of Turkey in terms of ethnic and cultural diversity. With the Syrians, this ethnic and cultural diversity has increased. However, the emergence of various problems in the context of cultural conflict and social integration has been inevitable. Thus, while contributing to “multiculturalism” and “living togetherness” for the city of Sanliurfa, Syrians also contributed to the realization of sociological transformation by being at the center of the problems experienced in the context of “social integration”, “cultural conflicts” and “social exclusion”. As a result, this situation, conceptualized as the encounter of the poor and the crisis of encounter, played an important role in the production of social space.
