DOĞU-BATI KARŞITLIĞI BAĞLAMINDA “DÜNYA SERMAYESİNİN SON GÜNLERİ” ESERİ ÜZERİNE SEMBOLİK BİR OKUMA: GÜÇ VE DOĞU-BATI ELEŞTİRİSİ
A SYMBOLIC READING OF “THE LAST DAYS OF WORLD CAPITAL” IN THE CONTEXT OF EAST–WEST DICHOTOMY: POWER AND EAST–WEST CRITIQUE

Summary/Abstract: In the final quarter of the 19th century, a series of socio-cultural transformations began to emerge, fostering the conditions necessary for the abandonment of traditional discourse and pedagogical paradigms. These developments facilitated the rise of a new educational philosophy and system. The influence of Western modernization—particularly through its reflection in the Ottoman reform agenda—began to resonate in Turkestan, culminating in concrete reformist initiatives under the leadership of Ismail Gasprinski. Within this framework, the educational institutions established under Gasprinski’s Usul-i Cedid (New Method) movement constituted foundational structures for promoting this new vision. Instruction in these schools was conducted in Turkish, and a distinct shift occurred with the incorporation of subjects grounded in the natural sciences, replacing the prevailing rotelearning practices with a more rationalist and progressive curriculum. In this intellectual and ideological climate, one of the early representatives of Jadidism in Uzbekistan, Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi, emerged as a critical voice advocating for enlightenment and social reform. His journalistic writings and literary productions predominantly centered on themes that challenged religious dogmatism and emphasized rational critique. In particular, his works addressed the systemic marginalization of women, the commodification of religion by selfserving clerics, and the broader issue of societal fanaticism. Niyazi drew attention to the ways in which traditional interpretations of religion had excluded women from fundamental rights, relegated them to the domestic sphere, and denied them access to education and public life. In alignment with other Jadid intellectuals, Niyazi perceived theater as an effective medium for propagating enlightenment ideals. Consequently, he produced several dramatic works with the intent of fostering critical awareness among the populace. This study undertakes a symbolic and ideological reading of Niyazi’s play The Last Days of World Capital, analyzing it through the prism of East-West dualism and interpretive symbolism. The work is examined as a textual site in which power structures, civilizational critique, and the epistemic conflict between tradition and modernity are articulated in allegorical form.

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