By james art 
GLENDALE—Abril Bookstore will present a panel discussion with Dr. Talar Chakhinian, Lilit Keshishian, Gegham Mugnetsian, and Hrag Papazian, who will discuss issues from a newly published book to which they all contributed, entitled “Armenian Diaspora and Stateless Power: Collective Identity in the Transnational 20th Century.” The event will be held on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00 pm at the Armenian Arts Center, located at 250 N. Orange St., Glendale, CA 91203.
From genocide, forced displacement and emigration to the gradual establishment of settled and rooted global communities, how has the Armenian diaspora formed and maintained a sense of collective identity?
“Armenian Diaspora and Stateless Power” explores the richness and magnitude of the Armenian experience in the 20th century to examine how Armenian diaspora elites and their institutions emerged in the post-genocide period and used “stateless power” to shape of social discipline. Historians, cultural theorists, literary critics, sociologists, political scientists, and anthropologists examine how national and transnational institutions are constructed in places as far-flung as Istanbul, Aleppo, Beirut, and Jerusalem to Paris, Los Angeles, and the American Midwest.
Exploring literary and cultural production as well as the role of religious institutions, the book explores the history and experience of the Armenian diaspora over the long 20th century, from the role of the fin de siècle émigré Armenian press to the experience of Syr. -Armenian asylum seekers in the 21st century. It shows that the statelessness of a diaspora can be not only evidence of its power, but also how this “stateless power” acts as an alternative and complement to the nation-state.
Dr. Talar Chahinyan is co-editor of Armenian Diaspora and Stateless Power. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles, and lectures in the Armenian Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine, where she is also visiting faculty in the Department of Comparative Literature. She is also the author of Stateless: The Politics of the Armenian Language in Exile (Syracuse University Press, 2023).
Lilit Keshishian is a Lecturer in the Writing Program at USC, where she has taught upper- and junior-level writing and critical thinking courses since 2018.
Gegham Mughnetsyan is a Chitjian Research Archivist at the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies.
Hrag Papazian is an assistant professor of anthropology and holder of the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies at the University of Southern California.
Entry is free for the event. For more information, call (818) 243-4112. There is 90 minutes of free parking in the structure.