Armenian Identity

Armenian identity has become a subject of thorough analysis and discourse for many historians, archaeologists and scholars since it is full of controversies and hypothesis. The history of ethnogenesis of the Armenian nation has been long-term process, full of challenges, however the maintenance of the national identity was and remains to be even harder and a continuous process. Thus, the question arises on what basis we as Armenians can be sure on the issue of identifying who is the real Armenian person and which qualities and characteristics are considered to be the basis for thinking so. In the epicenter of the ethnogenes theory are the myths and legends, which, according to numerous scholarly publications, have been proven to be true for some reason. Taking into account all the publications and sources from the ancient times by Movses Khorenatci who is known as the “Father of Armenian History”, or other historians stressing out the importance of the myths and legends on the origin of Armenians, it is important to acknowledge ourselves what is the true origin and identity of Armenian nation. Hence, in order to understand Armenian’s true self and identity, there is a need to study and go deep into the roots of origins and acknowledge how the ethnogenesis impacted on the formation of an Armenian nation.

Religious belonging, practices and traditions are one of the key factors in defining cultural identity of an ethnic minority group. The emphasis becomes stronger in a multi religious society, where religion and religious affiliation determine self –identity of a group, thus becoming one of the levers to preserve the national heritage of a community. On the example of Armenian community in Lebanon and its sociocultural and political engagement in a religiously diverse setting, in my thesis I aim to underline the impact of religion on the preservation of cultural identity of the Lebanese Armenian community.
As a part of my study program, in the third semester I left for Lebanon to do my research project there. Based on my findings in Lebanon, in my paper I indicate means by which church influences on preservation of community’s sociocultural heritage, and its involvement in the social and political life of the country. In fact, the role of religion and church is not exclusive as schools and political parties also play an important role on community preservation, and the interaction of these three elements prevents from the final assimilation to the environment.

The article is a short essai. It analyses different modes used by christians who have Armenian as
their First language when explaining the Armenian identity of non-Armenian talking and even non-christian Armenians. The article presents how bi-cultural, non-Armenian talking and sometimes non-christian people describe their Armenian identity. The article then concludes that while the cultural
identity of Armemians in their motherland is based on language and religion, outside Armenia it is
generated mostly from the idea of having a common past (of sharing a history) and that by simple aggreeing with someones declaration of Armenianness it is enough to engage him or her into a processes of de-
assimilation.

This collection of essays, originally presented at a conference on Armenian identity held at UC Irvine, span a period between the ancient and the present and indicate the continuing relevance of the broad and complex concept and study of identity. The chapters express different interpretations and contexts of Armenian identity and demonstrate the multiple ways of approaching it. Thus, the collection as a whole is also a reflection of historiographical developments and directions.

Ideology of the Armenian Experience
in William Saroyan’s Novel
The Human Comedy
Vicky Tchaparian
Lebanese University
William Saroyan (1908-1981) is one of the most distinguished American
writers of Armenian origin who lived through the Armenian Genocide, and
is well known to both Armenian and non-Armenian readers. He has been
considered one of the most prolific writers in the United States who has used his
Armeniaism in his novels introducing the world the nation he belongs to and the
way the Armenian people felt in exile. Saroyan’s philosophy preaches to all
Armenians in the Diaspora a message of tolerance that helps them understand who
they are as Diasporans without letting go of their tragic Armenian past and
Genocide. The work I have chosen by William Saroyan which reveals the
Armenian experience is The Human Comedy. The linguistic theory I have applied
to my analysis to reveal Saroyan’s attitudes is Fairclough’s (1995) theory of
ideology.
Key words: Genocide, death, suffering, home, hope.

Delivered as part of the 2012 Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture at the Library of Congress, the paper argues that we are in the third phase of Armenian literature-the Digital Age-which will, if probably employed, assure the retention and survival of a literary identity and tradition

Key-words: Tayk, Tayk's architectural monuments, Armenian-Georgian relations in the field of architecture, Kars region, Ardahan, Turkey, Janashia, Nikolay Tokarsky, Tiran Marutyan.

The study of the architectural monuments of Tayk has begun one and a half centuries ago and is part of the history of Armenian-Georgian controversies in regard to architectural heritage. It has both scientific and political significance, a subject that is not directly touched upon in special publications on architecture and is only highlighted in case of necessity by both researchers and political and public figures. Places of worship (which were merely regarded as monuments during the Soviet period) are also indicators for the ethnic structure of the region, where they were built. 
The present article examines the history of the study of Tayk’s architectural heritage during the Soviet period, the developments of the Soviet-Turkish relations after World War II in relation to the territory of the former Kars region, as well as  some questions about the formation of Georgia's territorial “claims.” Special attention is devoted to the fate of the books The Architecture of Ancient Armenia by Nikolay Tokarsky (1946) and The Architectual Monuments of Tayk by Tiran Marutyan (1972), which was immediately destroyed. The approach of the Soviet and Soviet-Armenian censorship is studied based on the example of the fate of Tiran Marutyan's books, which contained sections on the architecture of Tayk as well as on his unpublished memoires.

ANCIENT ARMENIA AS A “NATION-STATE”

By Armen Ayvazyan

Summary

The study elaborates on the phenomenon of unusually early, actually the ancient emergence of Armenian identity and ethnonationalism.
In particular, the texts by ancient Roman and Armenian authors are examined regarding the concepts of Armenian nation and, as put by Tacitus, its “national character.” The symbolic functions and connotations of Armenian language and army are discussed. It is revealed that the united Armenian Army had a special designation of Hayastan gund (Army “Armenia”) as well as, concisely, Hayastan (Armenia).
It is demonstrated that the common perception of a stratified national population as essentially homogeneous, which forms “the basis of all nationalisms” (Liah Greenfeld), was functional in ancient and medieval Armenia centuries before its advent on the European scene.
The analysis concludes that the ancient Armenian nation-state was a historical reality as early as the first centuries BC/AD. In other words, there was the ancient — fully self-conscious — Armenian nation, which, similarly to many modern nations, was “governed by the state whose authority coincides with the boundaries of the nation.” Physical boundaries of ancient Armenian state were in definite accord with its psychological boundaries, where the latter refers to uniquely shared historical experiences and collective memories of a group.
The earliest and hardest “layers” of Armenian identity had been built by a durable continuous opposition to the outside forces conducted through the institutional channels — most notably by the armed forces — of ancient Armenian state. Furthermore, this process was effectively over centuries earlier than the adoption of Christianity in Armenia in 301 and the invention of Armenian alphabet in 405, two acts that are most usually cited as the prime fosterers of Armenian identity. These two cultural super-events occurred later just to be readily adapted to serve and promote further by then already basically nationalistic Armenian civilization.