Contending Nationalism

This book focuses on different facets of the everyday lived experience of Armenian citizens of Turkey, such as encounters with the state, social interactions with neighbours, friends and colleagues as well as experiences in social institutions such as schools.

The book will discuss How Armenians experience and make sense of everyday life as an ethnoreligious minority inside Muslim-majority Turkey? What does it mean to be an Armenian citizen in a country where nationalist and anti-non-Muslim sentiments run deep? How do they navigate this nationalist landscape? How do they situate themselves inside the nation and vis-à-vis their fellow citizens?

The book draws from a rich set of oral histories to reveal the significant connection between everyday interpretations and experiences of nationhood on the one hand and political power on the other. Rather than limiting individuals' responses to an assimilation versus dissimilation register, the book reveals how they employ a complex set of strategies in order to navigate a highly exclusionary nationalist landscape. In scrutinizing state-society relationship, this study further connects to themes such as notions of belonging and citizenship, and the management of diversity in contemporary societies.