HISTORY OF THE FACULTY OF LETTERS

 Turkish

The history of İstanbul University dates back to the foundation of institutions of education by Fatih Sultan Mehmet under the name Medaris-i Semaniye (Sahn-ı Seman) immediately after the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, and for this reason the Faculty of Letters is assumed to have been founded at that date. The reorganisation of the University in accordance with western principles was realised through arrangements carried out in the years 1845, 1863, 1869, 1900.

         The first effort for founding a modern university after the declaration of the “Tanzimat”  was made in 21 July 1846, but an opening programme could be prepared only by 13 January 1863. This effort was limited to conferences only and a regular education could not be offered. It was agreed upon in the opening conferences that courses such as History, Geography, and History of Philosophy together with other courses should be offered within the frame of the university.

           The Darülfünun that was considered to be founded with the 1869 National Education Regulations (Maarif-i Umumiye Nizamnamesi) began education on 20 February 1870 under the name Daurülfünun-ı Osmani. One of the departments within the Darülfünun-ı Osmani programme was the Department of Philosophy and Literature. This department, however, was closed in 1873 before it started education. One of the three departments of the Darülfünun-ı Sultani that was opened in 1874 was the School of Literature (Edebiyat-ı Aliye Mektebi). The School of Literature constituted the nucleus of the present Faculty of Letters.

            The Faculty of Letters was founded under the university which took the name Darülfünun-ı Şahane with a new arrangement in 15 August 1900. For the first time 25 students were admitted to the Faculty of Letters that year. Only seven of these students could graduate in 1902 after an education that was planned to last two years.

            With an arrangement made in 1911 the university took the name “İstanbul Darülfünunu” and the faculties of Islamic Law, Law, Medicine, Science, and Letters were founded. 226 students enrolled to the Faculty of Letters in the 1912-1913 academic year. The “İnas Darülfünunu” was founded for women in 1915 and the students of the Literature Department began taking their courses in the Faculty of Letters. It was resolved in 1919 that the women students of the İnas Darülfinunu could take courses together with men students in the Faculty of Letters. Şükufe Nihal was the first women student to graduate from the Geography Department in the 1919-1920 academic year.

            Starting with the Second Constitutional Monarchy period foreign teaching staff together with foreign students began to be admitted to the İstanbul Darülfünunu.

            As the Istanbul Darülfünunu gained scientific autonomy in 1919 it also acquired actual administrative autonomy. Specialisation became more systematic and department diplomas started to be granted by the Faculty of Letters.

            In 1922 the students of the Faculty of Letters and Yahya Kemal of the Academic Staff proposed that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk be granted the title of Honorary Professor and this proposal was accepted in the Faculty Assembly held on 13 November 1922.

            The name of the İstanbul Darülfünunu was changed to “İstanbul Üniversitesi”  through law dated 31 May 1933 and when the law took effect in 1 August 1933 the Faculty of Letters began with its education under its present form. During the founding process the teaching staff consisted of 6 professors, 6 candidate-professors, 4 lecturers, and 5 foreign professors. In the following years the teaching staff was extended largely with the admission of foreign, especially German, professors and candidate-professors. Disciplines such as Art History and Anthropology that were taught in the form of free lectures and conferences at the beginning gradually became departments, and the disciplines of Pedagogy, Psyhcology, and Sociology became separate chairs.        

            There were 39 chairs and areas of specialisation under 19 departments before the reorganisation of the universities under the Higher Education Council law number 2547 dated 6 November 1981. Under the new academic reorganisation these chairs serve (6.918) undergraduate and (943) graduate students through (56) Major Branches and (4) Branches, under (15) departments.

            Today the number of academic staff has reached (364). Also (8) research centres carry out researches under our faculty and (21) journals are published by various departments.

            Since its founding, the Faculty of Letters has carried out its activities in Sultanahmet, Çemberlitaş, Galatasaray, and in the Zeynep Hanım Mansion in Beyazıt. After a short period in the Hatice Sultan Palace in Fındıklı it was moved in 1951 to the present Faculties of Science and Letters buildings. The buildings of the Faculties of Science and Letters were built by the architects Emin Onat and Sedat Hakkı Eldem.

             The Istanbul University Faculty of Letters that aims at serving under the guidance of the principles and renovations of Atatürk Turkish and foreign students and researchers through its departments has continued with this mission on its own for many years. The academic staff educated here served as founders of departments and major branches of newly founded universities. Our faculty has acquired a respectable position in society through the scientists and teachers it has educated.

             The Faculty of Letters owns the third place in the Istanbul University Senate. Its academic colour is green. Its special rosette consists of a green laurel branch on a white background.