Inna Mirzoyan Dissertation Defense:"The Diaspora Evolves: Young Armenians Forging Identities in Yerevan and Glendale"

Fri, July 7, 2023 10:00 AM at Zoom

Sociology PhD candidate Inna Mirzoyan will defend her dissertation "The Diaspora Evolves: Young Armenians Forging Identities in Yerevan and Glendale." 

 

Abstract: This dissertation arrives at a critical moment in Armenian history, as Armenians globally respond to the aftermath of a 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory of Nagorno- Karabakh/Artsakh. Against this backdrop, I analyze the evolution of the "new" Armenian Diaspora in the U.S. via their ethnic organizations and ethnic enclaves and highlight the agency of the group’s younger generation who are inventing new ways of challenging expectations regarding group membership. Relying on a multi-sited ethnographic approach, I examine the structure and impact of Glendale, California, the largest Armenian community in the U.S., and the Birthright Armenia organization in Yerevan, Armenia. Drawing on the analysis of nine months of fieldwork, 55 in-depth interviews, participant observation data, and photovoice methodology with Armenians, this study highlights the significance of place and co-ethnic organizations in strengthening Armenians’ sense of community while emphasizing the constraints on solidarity imposed by distance from the homeland and by the Armenian population’s contested and divergent understandings of membership. 

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https://msu.zoom.us/j/99650305233

Meeting ID: 996 5030 5233
Passcode: Mirzoyan