‘Özgür’ addresses the ongoing identity crisis of the Turkish Republic and describes a hidden ‘modern’ in Anatolia. The dissertation asks the question ‘what if?’ regarding incomplete educational reforms in the early days of the Turkish Republic and finds answers in an educated Anatolian village called Güzelsu.

The dissertation aims to show how the evolution of places affects ideology by focusing on the village's current and recent past socio-spatial qualities. Özgür explains the feeling of independence in this village, which embraced 'different' and did not fear change in time. While exploring the strong sense of being not dependent, villagers' ideas were collected with the help of informal talks, interviews, and archival records supported by the recent past.

In conclusion, the hidden reasons behind this exceptional evolution are identified as education, communal work, and socio-spatial qualities of the village, which were illustrated in a sketch/photo book.