Diaspora studies is an integral part of the Armenian studies.
During the Armenian Genocide hundreds of thousands of Armenians had to leave their homeland. They replenished the old communities on the one hand, and established new ones on the other. At that time the number of Armenians residing outside the homeland almost tripled and the geography of the Armenian communities doubled. In addition, the deportees who survived the Armenian Genocide were deprived of the opportunity to return to their homeland. These are the reasons why the Armenian Diaspora is considered to be the consequence of the Genocide: after that the Armenians who found shelter in foreign countries began to perceive themselves as one— part of Diaspora.
As a result, most of the Armenian people now live outside their two homelands. Therefore, Diaspora studies is of great importance for Armenian Studies through which the research of the medieval, modern and contemporary history of the Armenian people is completed.
On the other hand, the department's activities relate to the theoretical part of the Diaspora studies in order to clarify the methodological, provisional, and conceptual fields of Diaspora studies.
The goals of the department of Diaspora Studies are:
1. to clarify the main methods, principles, provisions and concepts of Diaspora studies,
2. to carry out historical-genealogical and historical-typological comparative studies comparing the Armenian Diaspora with other diasporas (jews, greek etc.),
3. to study the main stages and developments of the history of Diaspora,
4. to study the history of separate communities before the Armenian Genocide,
5. to study the history of the formation of the Armenian heritage abroad and its current state,
6. to discuss the issues of formation of Diaspora after the Armenian Genocide,
7. to study modern Armenian communities,
8. to study the current state of Diaspora organizations,
9. to study the main developments of the current phase of the Diaspora,
10. to study Homeland-Diaspora relations, their developments and the main areas of cooperation.
Research conducted by the department is being prepared for publication to make it available to the readers.
Head of the department is Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Arman Yeghiazaryan.
