Abstract
Foreword:
Here I lay the groundwork of my book. I explain that this book use the same structure as Armenian stories and narratives, which are often intertwined. Stories within stories within stories where a sudden history is unveiled. I used the same technique to unravel the complexities of genocidal violence, the dynamics of genocide and its consequences in this book.
Introduction:
Here I return to a painting “A Mother and an Artist” painted by Arshile Gorky – a first generation survivor of the Armenian genocide. I tell his life history and ask myself the question why this painting has such an emotional impact on my informants. Especially since his surname does not indicate he is an Armenian. (His surname does not end with “ian”.) So why the emotional impact? What does Arshile Gorky stand for or symbolize?
Chapter 1
In this chapter I lay the theoretical groundwork on which this book is built. I look at the definitions of identity, identity-making and how genocide and identity-making influences one another. I also explain that identity plays a pivotal role within genocide, more so than in other crimes against humanity. I try to give an explanation why this is and how this gives us a new analytical approach to study genocide.
Chapter 2:
In this chapter I look at the “Great Diaspora” right after the genocide and how the demographics of both the Armenian Diaspora community in London and the Netherlands is built. I look at the differences but also the commonalities which has a lot of consequences as we will see in later chapters. We will see how the Diaspora has been dispersed and how we can decipher first waves of immigrants and second and third waves of immigrants: immigrants that did not directly flee the Armenian genocide but the host country they fled to in the Great Diaspora. In this sense the Armenians are an “invisible” minority group.
Chapter 3:
In this chapter I look at the genocide itself. This is the pinnacle of my research and thesis. Genocide, as I will explain is not just as an physical act, but mostly and upmost a mental act springing from a crisis of the identity of the perpetrators. Due to international pressure they develop a pathological identity crisis which they resolve by rebuilding and creating a new identity through a process of Othering. I place the genocide and the mechanism of genocide in the center of identity building. Which gives genocide in this book an unique element. I approach the violence, in all its forms, as a cultural expression of a pathological fixation on identity of the perpetrators who use the Other to create a new sense of Self. In order to do this, they have to destroy the Other in all its aspect: physically, culturally, politically, socially, psychologically.
Intermezzo:
Komitas is an example for many Armenians and symbolize the genocide but also the consequences of the genocide. This intermezzo is a small interruption from the historical aspects of this book and the ethnographic aspects of the book. Where the first part of the book was about the destruction of an identity. The second part is about the reconstruction of an identity.
Chapter 4
Here I discuss the direct and indirect consequences of the Armenian genocide. I explain how all identity indicators have been destroyed due to the genocide and how the genocide has been placed within the Armenian history .I explain that there are both visible and invisible consequences. One of the invisible consequences is how the Armenian genocide has been placed in a cultural narrative and attached to a sense of Self. A narrative about “suffering” and “resurrection” in which the pain has been embodied.
Chapter 5
Here I discuss how this narrative of “suffering” and “resurrection” does not only have a binding factor, but also causes contention within the community. Since the demographics in the Netherlands is different than in London the contention is higher in the Netherlands. Here there are more Armenians from Turkish descent and there is a bigger collision in what I consider the political and cultural discourse of the Self.
Chapter 6:
Here I look at how the Armenian Diaspora community deals with the world outside the ethnic boundaries of their group. Overall the Armenians are an well integrated minority, but there is a fear within their narrative that can be linked to the Armenian genocide. Integration and assimilation are highly interlinked and the fear to “disappear” is very prevalent.
Conclusion
In here I answer the research question and give a summary to all my findings. What makes the conclusions unique is that I observe that the narratives I discovered are both trans-generational and non-spatial in nature. This is unique in Diasporic communities. The reason lies in my opinion in the aftermath of the genocide. It was here where the new narratives were created.
Here I lay the groundwork of my book. I explain that this book use the same structure as Armenian stories and narratives, which are often intertwined. Stories within stories within stories where a sudden history is unveiled. I used the same technique to unravel the complexities of genocidal violence, the dynamics of genocide and its consequences in this book.
Introduction:
Here I return to a painting “A Mother and an Artist” painted by Arshile Gorky – a first generation survivor of the Armenian genocide. I tell his life history and ask myself the question why this painting has such an emotional impact on my informants. Especially since his surname does not indicate he is an Armenian. (His surname does not end with “ian”.) So why the emotional impact? What does Arshile Gorky stand for or symbolize?
Chapter 1
In this chapter I lay the theoretical groundwork on which this book is built. I look at the definitions of identity, identity-making and how genocide and identity-making influences one another. I also explain that identity plays a pivotal role within genocide, more so than in other crimes against humanity. I try to give an explanation why this is and how this gives us a new analytical approach to study genocide.
Chapter 2:
In this chapter I look at the “Great Diaspora” right after the genocide and how the demographics of both the Armenian Diaspora community in London and the Netherlands is built. I look at the differences but also the commonalities which has a lot of consequences as we will see in later chapters. We will see how the Diaspora has been dispersed and how we can decipher first waves of immigrants and second and third waves of immigrants: immigrants that did not directly flee the Armenian genocide but the host country they fled to in the Great Diaspora. In this sense the Armenians are an “invisible” minority group.
Chapter 3:
In this chapter I look at the genocide itself. This is the pinnacle of my research and thesis. Genocide, as I will explain is not just as an physical act, but mostly and upmost a mental act springing from a crisis of the identity of the perpetrators. Due to international pressure they develop a pathological identity crisis which they resolve by rebuilding and creating a new identity through a process of Othering. I place the genocide and the mechanism of genocide in the center of identity building. Which gives genocide in this book an unique element. I approach the violence, in all its forms, as a cultural expression of a pathological fixation on identity of the perpetrators who use the Other to create a new sense of Self. In order to do this, they have to destroy the Other in all its aspect: physically, culturally, politically, socially, psychologically.
Intermezzo:
Komitas is an example for many Armenians and symbolize the genocide but also the consequences of the genocide. This intermezzo is a small interruption from the historical aspects of this book and the ethnographic aspects of the book. Where the first part of the book was about the destruction of an identity. The second part is about the reconstruction of an identity.
Chapter 4
Here I discuss the direct and indirect consequences of the Armenian genocide. I explain how all identity indicators have been destroyed due to the genocide and how the genocide has been placed within the Armenian history .I explain that there are both visible and invisible consequences. One of the invisible consequences is how the Armenian genocide has been placed in a cultural narrative and attached to a sense of Self. A narrative about “suffering” and “resurrection” in which the pain has been embodied.
Chapter 5
Here I discuss how this narrative of “suffering” and “resurrection” does not only have a binding factor, but also causes contention within the community. Since the demographics in the Netherlands is different than in London the contention is higher in the Netherlands. Here there are more Armenians from Turkish descent and there is a bigger collision in what I consider the political and cultural discourse of the Self.
Chapter 6:
Here I look at how the Armenian Diaspora community deals with the world outside the ethnic boundaries of their group. Overall the Armenians are an well integrated minority, but there is a fear within their narrative that can be linked to the Armenian genocide. Integration and assimilation are highly interlinked and the fear to “disappear” is very prevalent.
Conclusion
In here I answer the research question and give a summary to all my findings. What makes the conclusions unique is that I observe that the narratives I discovered are both trans-generational and non-spatial in nature. This is unique in Diasporic communities. The reason lies in my opinion in the aftermath of the genocide. It was here where the new narratives were created.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | Palgrave (Macmillan/St. Martin's Press) |
| Number of pages | 291 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-3-3`319-692260-9 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-319-692259-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Jun 2018 |
Keywords
- genocide
- genocidal process
- Idenity
- identity construction
- Identity formation
- identity development
- Identity politics
- identity destruction
- trauma
- trauma survivors
- transgenerational transmission of trauma
- violence
- symbolism of violence
- sexual violence
- identification processes
