When foreign capital entered the country and new government policies were developed in this area in the end of 1960s, studies on public relations increased in Turkey. In the historical process to the present, many women have had an active part in development of the discipline. People who entered the profession between 1960s and 1990s realised the importance of public relations in its early period, and these people conducted miscellaneous studies. People who preferred this profession in 1990s

more »

... worked in the sector, were affected from socio-economic factors and education policies, and the discipline acquired a new dimension. With developments in mass media in 2000s and communication technologies' becoming important parts of our lives, the discipline entered into a new process of evolution. This study aims to analyse the topic by centering woman perspective of the development of the discipline. Since the representatives both from the old and young generation are brought together within the context of the study, it differs from other studies and brings new stratas to the topic. In this study in which in-depth interview method was used, it is determined that women make an effect of catalyst in the development of public relations and that they formed an important basis for the development of the process. KADIN PERSPEKTİFİNDEN TÜRKİYE'DE HALKLA İLİŞKİLER ÖZ Türkiye'de halkla ilişkiler çalışmaları 1960'lı yılların sonlarında yabancı sermayenin ülkeye gelmesi ve bu alanda yeni devlet politikalarının geliştirilmesi ile artmıştır.Günümüze kadar geçen tarihsel süreçte birçok kadın bu disiplinin gelişmesinde aktif rol almıştır. Mesleğe 1960-1990 yılları arasında giren kişiler halkla ilişkilerin önemini erken dönemde farketmiş ve bu disiplinle çok yönlü çalışmalar yapmış kişilerdir. 1990'lı yıllar ile birlikte mesleği seçen ve sektörde çalışan kişiler sosyo-ekonomik faktörlerden ve eğitim politikalarından etkilenmiş kişilerden oluşmuş ve disiplin yeni bir boyut kazanmıştır. 2000'li yıllarda ki kitle iletişim araçlarındaki gelişmeler ve yeni iletişim teknolojilerinin hayatımızın önemli bir parçası haline gelmesi ile disiplin yeni bir evrim geçirme sürecine girmiştir. Bu çalışma halkla ilişkiler disiplinin gelişiminde kadın perspeftifini merkeze alarak konunun analiz edilmesini amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında hem yeni nesil hem de eski nesil den temsilcilerin bir araya getirilmesinden dolayı diğer çalışmalardan ayrılıyor ve konuya yeni katmanlar kazandırıyor. Derinlemesine görüşme yöntemi kullanılarak yapılan bu çalışmada; kadınların halkla ilişkilerin gelişiminde katalizör etki yaptığı ve disiplinin gelişiminde önemli bir temel oluşturdukları tespit edilmiştir. 234 The historical development of public relations, which was affected by American schools, started to be shaken with the studies that came from comprehensive analysis of the history of public relations in 2000s, and with the critical tendencies aimed at the dominant paradigm of public relations. In criticisms, it was stated that public relations models were grounded on the practices of public relations. In the studies, the importance of practices that did not follow American school was remarked, and multilateral practices of public relations beyond journalism and announcement were also remarked (Gower, 2008: 309). This caused researchers to find new tendencies in historiography of public relations (Yamanoğlu et al, 2013: 23). Lamme stated that historiography of public relations could be extended with the usage of different research methods from researchers who come from interdisciplinary studies, and he made suggestions about this (Lamme, 2009: 156-159). History of public relations in Turkey and women's position The Ottoman Empire is the basis of public relations in Turkey. There were practices of public relations which were very different from today's public relations models, and were related to the empire's domestic dynamics. The Sultan had a responsibility towards only the God. However, the God wanted him to treat his people well, fairly and justly by way of the Qur'an. Therefore, the Qur'an had been an important guiding spirit in the relationship between the government and the people. Even though it was possible for people to complain about institutions and other people to central bureaucracy, the relationship between the government and the people generally was unilateral and asymmetrical within this system. Since women were not in the executive positions in the Ottoman Empire, their effect in this communication chain was low. Development of public relations in the Ottoman Empire was parallel to socio-cultural developments and changes. In the early times of the empire, the communication process which was based on face to face meetings started to be performed through codes of laws later on. In particular, mosques had a vital role in practices of public relations when religious elements appeared mostly (Kazancı, 2006: 6-9). In the Ottoman Empire, the appearance of women in the area of public relations was based on the years when the government is vulnerable. Rule of the empire passed to the mothers of the sultans when they started to come to the throne at an early age. Though they did not possess the official right to rule, the rule of the empire passed to women unofficially. In these periods, even if it seemed that there was no difference in terms of practice, mothers of the sultans caused the creation of a new dialogue between the government and the people through their social responsibility activities. In particular, Kosem Sultan made some charities and developed dialogues with people, which contributed to the development of public relations with a symmetrical and bilateral model by women (Keating, 2007; Küpeli, 2015). Generally, works of public relations in Ottoman Empire were unsystematic and were conducted under the supervision of government and shaykh al-islams. 235 social change included women, the images of women and components of this image were often used in the communication works in this period (Erdoğan, 2008: 140-141).