A Novel Disclosing the Discursive Formations of Modernity: Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü (The Time Regulation Institute)

Abstract

Written by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Saatleri Ayarlama Enstitüsü (The Time Regulation Institute) deals with Turkey's modernization process, starting from the last period of the Ottoman Empire and bringing it to 1954, when the novel was written. In this process, how Modernity penetrates people with discursive formations is handled through the concretization of "time", which is an important concept for Modernity, through the institute, which is also one of the important institutions of Modernity. The Time Regulation Institute, which was founded out of a need, gains legitimacy through discursive formations. Thus, it begins to permeate society. The institution, functioning as a part of discursive formations, is finally dissolved with the change of discourse. The ironic language of the novel is extremely important at this point. With the absurd picture it paints, the novel ironically reveals the situations that people cannot comprehend while living, thus enabling people to look at the reality they live in from an outside perspective.