Construction of the National Body in School-Sport Magazine: A Discourse-Historical Approach

This study explores how School-Sport Magazine (SSM, Okul-Spor Dergisi), published by the state during the İnönü Era (1938–1950) in Turkey and aimed at young readers, discursively constructed and disseminated the concept of the national body. Although previous studies have shown that the body held a central place in early Republican nation-building, limited attention has been paid to how such ideas were communicated to youth through state-controlled publications. This study therefore examines how SSM functioned as a discursive tool shaping the moral, physical, and ideological formation of young citizens. The analysis is grounded in Foucault’s concepts of subjectivity and automatic obedience, while also employing Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach, particularly the topoi of responsibility, usefulness, definition, culture, danger and threat, and history. It draws on four key texts selected from the 20 issues of SSM published between 1939 and 1940 by the Ministry of National Education and authored by political, educational, and athletic figures. SSM was found to portray sport not only as physical training or leisure but also as a space for cultivating ideal citizenship. By emphasizing bodily discipline, self-control, and moral integrity, SSM encouraged young people to embody the ideals of national unity and endurance. Spor thus operated as a process through which individuals internalized national values as personal virtues. SSM’s discursive strategies framed the body as both a moral project and a political instrument, reflecting the İnönü Era’s biopolitical vision of disciplined, loyal, and productive Republican youth.