Η εκπαίδευση των γυναικών στις ελληνικές κοινότητες της οθωμανικής αυτοκρατορίας (19ος αι. - 1922): κοινωνικοποίηση στα πρότυπα της πατριαρχίας και του εθνικισμού

Abstract

The objectives of this doctoral research have been, firstly a presentation of the developmental process and the function of the education of women and secondly, the imprinting of the female identity model, molded through education. Considering these objectives, the moral, social, as well as national dimensions are examined. The interpretative method was opted for as the most appropriate, while the research was contextualized within feminist criticism and studies of nationalism. The developmental process of female education can be divided in three periods on the basis of the common characteristics in all researched areas. Only in the third period does the educational system present uniformity, in terms of the qualitative and quantitative elements. During the researched period, five models of school administration operate. These are related both to the schools’ class and social orientation, and to their educational status. The views of the patriarchate alongside nationalist ideology determine the content of women’s education in an absolute way. Consequently, these two influences reveal that the socialization of female students is the prime objective of their education. This dissertation argues that the traditional female roles in the private domain are socially constructed--shaped by conservative, middle class moral stereotypes with the aim of sustaining a sexed, therefore binary, social organization. Charity and paid work (in case of need) are also taken into consideration as secondary dimensions of the social role of females. Furthermore, these dimensions are strictly related to the class origin of female students. Last, since the 1870s the national dimension evolves as the determining dimension of the education of women, with all other dimensions developing ideological associations with it.