January 21 – Today’s Questions:

What do you think is the “thread” that keeps people to remain Armenian?

What steps should be taken so that future generations affirm “We are Armenian” instead of saying “Our grandparents (or parents) were Armenian”?

The (Re)formulation of Armenian Identity

Institutional sustainability is of course inexorably connected to the collective identity issue – that there are groups of people in the various diasporas who wish to remain Armenian or, as some people put it, “relatively Armenian.” The challenge is to give the tools to each generation of Armenians to formulate their own identity, inspired by history and past cultural expressions, but not frozen in them. The “core” versus the “loosely networked” dynamic mentioned above is just as applicable here.

The fact of the matter is that Armenian identity in the diaspora is no longer (if it ever was) “fixed,” “clear cut” or “given,” but is fluid, ambiguous and malleable. The matter is further complicated with the emergence of “Islamised Armenians” in Turkey. The key question is: in such an environment, what is the “thread” that keeps people – or a people – to remain Armenian? Perhaps it is impossible to identify a clearly defined thread. Nevertheless, how to develop a collective identity in the diaspora that is distinct, is a crucial question which requires multiple answers. Are there a set of common denominators which must be nurtured? And, on what basis can solidarity and responsibility be nourished so that future generations affirm “we are Armenian” instead of saying “our grandparents (or parents) were Armenian”?

Certain elements of a common denominator seem to be the willingness to affirm identity as an Armenian, to connect to others – at least with some regularity – on that basis (to family, friends, social causes, etc.), having some concern for Armenians and Armenia, and manifesting some engagement and involvement. Note that these are very different set of denominators than the traditional ones of language, religion and ethno-territorial origin.

If in the second half of the 20th Century Armenians in the West moved away from single national identities to hyphenated identities (e.g. from “Armenian” to “Armenian-American”), in the 21st Century there is further fragmentation as more and more people become “percentile” Armenians – i.e. half, quarter, one-eight, part-time, etc. Identity is not,obviously, a biological issue; the “percentile” terminology is a metaphor for engagement and subjective self-identification. One seminar participant summed up the challenges succinctly:

Armenian identity has had extensive and well-sourced “hardwares” (schools, clubs, churches, etc.). What is lacking is “software” for the 21st Century. The development of the Armenian identity “software” would require well-thought through and organised sets of ingredients (values, ideas, symbols) that would provide a common denominator (a problematic concept) of Armenian identity. The process of coming up with workable “software” (creed, commandments) is complex on multiple levels – from geographical and socio-cultural to ideological and political differences.

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