Stadiums as heterotopias: Spaces for creating new social norms in early Republican Türkiye (1923–1945)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines stadiums in early Republican Türkiye (1923–1945) not merely as sporting facilities but as spatial instruments through which the modernising state organised public rituals, disciplined bodies, and projected national identities. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, the study investigates how stadiums functioned as architectural environments where state power, collective performance, and modern citizenship were publicly staged. The study adopts a qualitative historical approach combining archival research with spatial and visual analysis. The empirical material includes architectural plans, contemporary architectural publications, newspaper reports, and visual documentation of national ceremonies such as the April 23 Children’s Day and the May 19 Youth and Sports Day celebrations. The analysis demonstrates that stadiums operated as ceremonial stages, where synchronised bodily performances transformed national ideology into a visible collective practice. Through mass gymnastics, choreographed formations, and gender-inclusive participation, these events produced a disciplined and modern public body aligned with the ideals of the Republican regime. By interpreting stadiums as heterotopic urban spaces, the study highlights the role of architecture in shaping the spatial and symbolic infrastructure of the Republican Modernisation project.
DOI: 10.70736/ijoess.2161
Author: Hasan Dogan
Institution: Harran University
Language: English
Topic: Historical Turkish Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Harran Üniversitesi
OpenAlex ID: W7166338397