Compatriotic societies were once ubiquitous organizations throughout the Armenian diaspora. They significantly contributed to the resettlement of Armenian genocide survivors and refugees in Soviet Armenia and the Middle East. Many compatriotic societies, however, were founded decades before the genocide in the United States through the efforts of early Armenian immigrants from the Ottoman Empire. Their initial aim was to support various projects in native villages and towns, in their respective homelands. The genocide, the deportations of Armenians as well as the destruction of their villages and towns during WWI prompted these organizations to rethink their programs and adjust their activities accordingly. This lecture will address the role of the compatriotic societies in modern Armenian diasporic communities by exploring their translocal activism and the changes in their programmatic endeavors as they responded to events, which affected their compatriots in their homeland and elsewhere in the diaspora.

Cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS), the Department of American Culture, and the Department of Near Eastern Studies.