ÇAĞDAŞ BiR TANIĞIN KALEMiYLE ZiYA GÖKALP

Works about Ziya Gokalp were initially written by those around or closeto him. There is no doubt that about the significance of these Works of Kazlm Nami, Emin Eri~irgil, Enver Sapolyo etc compromise this group. On the other hand, there is also someone who knew him well and has given a remarkable place in his memoirs. This person is Muhittin Birgen. Birgen belonged to the left wing of jttihat ve Terakki. He was renowned as the editorial writer as the newspaper Tanin. He has the opportunity to know Ziya Gokalp personally and has been around his circle of friends. Thank to this, he has been able to appraise Gokalp substantially. Besides, Muhittin had great interest in social sciences, history, economics and sociology etc. At the same time, he was a professor of literature and he had even written a book about this subject. He was also among the pioneer people who translated the novel "Mother". This background of Muhittin certainly contributed to his fair evaluation of Gokalp. In his memoirs published in Son Posta newspaper between 1936-37, Muhittin Birgen has discussed Ziya Gokalp with qualification. However, these memoirs have not been the focus of scholarly attention and the importance of these memoirs for the appreciation ofZiya Gokalp has not been understood. Although Prof Uriel Heyd, who has authored a book on Gokalp, talks about these memoirs, it is apparent that he has not taken substantive advantage of this source in his Works. Even Cavit Orhan Tutengil, who has prepared a very detailed bibliography on Gokalp, does not mention this source. Muhittin is one of the writers who thoroughly evaluate Gokalp. In his work, he first portrays Gakalp's mode of thinking then discusses his keystones of thought, his objectives and the influence of his Works in detail. In this paper, we will be evaluating the information given by Muhittin Birgen about Ziya Gakalp.