European Journal of Turkish Studies (Jul 2022)
Un métier qui ne fait pas rêver ?
Abstract
Veterinary medicine began its professionalization process towards the end of the 19th century in the Ottoman Empire. The members of this then-nascent profession almost immediately engaged in a struggle for the recognition of their work. Convinced that they were underestimated and underpaid, they founded associations and journals and constructed a common discourse to build up their legitimacy externally. This discourse targeted public opinion but also the state, which was their main employer. My aim is to examine the rhetoric and the strategies deployed by these veterinarians to demand the valorization of their skill set and to reflect, from this case study, on the invention of professions.
