DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2789-6919/44/8-12
Typology of Public Enlightenment Movement in Azerbaijan
Abstract
The article discusses the typology of the public enlightenment movement in Azerbaijan. Thus, the main directions and typological features of the public enlightenment movement that took shape in Azerbaijan in the 19th-20th centuries. The enlightenment movement is studied not only in the context of educational reforms, but also in terms of its role in shaping social consciousness and the formation of national identity and the occurrence of socio-cultural changes. The study is based on rich archival materials and interprets enlightenment activities though scientific-educational, pedagogical, social and cultural-enlightenment perespectives. It is emphasized that the enlightenment of Azerbaijan is a multifaceted and complex process, which is important both in terms of modernization and national awakening.
The article also notes that the analysis of the education system reveals that it was in fact reconstructed on multiple fronts: the structure of society, its ideological nature and essence, as well as the dynamics of socio-political development. All of these were among the key factors influencing its directions. In general, during the early 19th-20th centuries in Northern Azerbaijan, the state of education and the new historical-sociopolitical changes faced by the people, ideological-cultural pressures of colonialism and their interaction with European and Russian cultural experiences are highlighted. These factors complicate the full revelation of the history of education. In the Middle Ages, the Muslim Renaissance’s attitude toward education, especialy the romantic inperpretations of literary and artistic heritage education, enriched enlightenmen tendencies. Howerer, the Tsarist occupation and the Russian-language education did not only form the foundation of enlightenment in Azerbaijan. Rather, it both destroyed the existing Eastern Muslim enlightenment the basis of the historical transformation of Russia and throumodel and imposed new cultural challenges.
Keywords: enlightenment of Azerbaijan, social movement, typology, enlightenment ideology, national awakening, press, educational reforms