Author ORCID Identifier
Degree Year
2018
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Advisor(s)
Zeinab Abul-Magd
Committee Member(s)
Leonard V. Smith, Chair
Renee Christine Romano
David Edward Kelley
Keywords
Armenian genocide, Armenian American, Memory, Trauma, Community building, Wilsonianism, Little Armenia, Glendale, Watertown, Remembrance, Loss, Lobbying, Activism
Abstract
This project looks at how politicized identity and community was formed in Armenian America through the creation and dissemination of Armenian genocide memories. The Armenian genocide, which occurred in 1915, resulted in the mass dispersion of the Armenian people, and in great numbers to America. The traumatic genocidal experience, along with erasure by the Turkish government, has resulted in the genocide being the most seminal piece of Armenian community building and political organization. Most work done on the Armenian-American community and Armenian genocide focuses on the impact of non-recognition by the Turkish government. In my thesis, I seek to rediscover the ways that the Armenian-American community historically utilized this trauma in order to redefine their identity and look towards new possibilities of identity, community, and memory. This exploration of the intersections of memory, political organizing, and community building showcases the hopeful potentials of traumatic events.
Repository Citation
Kim, Hannah Marijke, ""Forget-Me-Not": The Politics of Memory, Identity, and Community in Armenian America" (2018). Honors Papers. 162.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/162
