Full Description
This book examines the processes of symbolic cultivation of identity promoted by Armenian cultural elites in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, focusing on the transmission of positive language ideologies and emotional elements related to collective memory. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and a range of primary materials, this work sheds light on the role of the Armenian alphabet in legitimizing collective visions of 'distinctiveness' and of the Armenian Genocide remembrance in shaping non-exclusive, transnational patterns of belonging. While contributing to the study of the complex dynamics and challenges of 'Armenian survival' across space and time, it situates the issue in the unique context of Bulgaria, analyzing, moreover, the impact of proximity to Turkey.
Contents
Preface - Foreword by Boghos Levon Zekiyan - Acknowledgments - 1. Introduction: Symbols and Memory in the Armenian Diaspora - 2. History of the Armenian Diaspora of Plovdiv - 3. Language as an Idealized Space of Belonging - 4. The Symbolic Cultivation of Identity in Education - 5. The AGBU Initiatives in Support of Language and Memory - 6. The Genocide and the Lost Homeland in the Local Literature - 7. The Armenian Linguistic Landscapes of Plovdiv - 8. Conclusions: Multiple Belongings and New Diaspora Dynamics - Bibliography - Illustrations
