Reconsidering Senses of Belonging amongst Armenian Diaspora Communities: Armenians in Toronto and New York City

The attachment of immigrants and their descendants to an ethnic community is, at least partly, a matter of personal preference and the manner it is articulated is shaped by their interaction with ethnic cognates and host-country-specific conditions. This thesis reconsiders the sense of belonging of Armenians who consciously identify themselves as diaspora members and are engaged in community affairs. The research focuses on the Armenian world in Toronto and New York City. It explores new trends and discourses which shape engagement in the community and transnational social fields. The most notable of these transformations in the last three decades has been Armenia's independence as a state, which has strengthened transnational relations between the homeland and the diaspora and shaped understanding of diasporic culture. The research first explores the ways in which diasporic Armenians simultaneously navigate multiple facets of these identities, and second examines physical manifestations of their ethnic identities in diasporic spaces by looking at their affiliations or relations with diaspora organisations, as well as individuals’ motives for attending ethnic realms in the diaspora. Third, it scrutinises the homeland imaginary of Armenian diaspora members. The findings indicate that there is no standard cultural background that is shared by all people of Armenian descent. The manifestation of Armenian identity is rebuilt between homeland-orientated and traditional markers of identity. The thesis shows that although Armenia as a homeland has become a tangible concept in the diasporic imagination, it is not the ultimate desired destination for members of the Armenian diaspora who are actively involved in transnational fields. In addition to the 1915 narratives, the existence of Armenia and the fight for freedom in Nagorno-Karabakh have had a significant impact on the construction of diaspora identities, encouraging young diaspora members to join the transnational community and mobilise on behalf of the homeland.