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Ethnodoxy in the Diaspora: Armenian-American Religious and Ethnic Identity Construction in Los Angeles

Avetyan, Madlen · 2017

A CSUN master's thesis in anthropology on 'ethnodoxy' — the fusion of ethnic and religious identity — among Armenian-Americans in Los Angeles, the largest Armenian community in the diaspora. Avetyan argues that the Armenian Apostolic Church has functioned since the fourth century as a unifying national institution in the absence of statehood, and that both its practical and its symbolic religiosity remain central markers of Armenian identity in the diaspora today. The study fills a gap in scholarship that had examined Armenian cultural identity without seriously weighing its ethno-religious dimension. Committee members included Vahram Shemmassian.

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Published in
M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, California State University, Northridge (advisor Sabina Magliocco); xi, 147 pp.; handle 10211.3/192578
Year
2017
Language
English

Citation

Avetyan, Madlen 2017. Ethnodoxy in the Diaspora: Armenian-American Religious and Ethnic Identity Construction in Los Angeles. M.A. Thesis, Department of Anthropology, California State University, Northridge (advisor Sabina Magliocco); xi, 147 pp.; handle 10211.3/192578.

What this offers a reader

For students

A readable, well-documented look at why 'being Armenian' and 'being Apostolic' are so hard to pull apart in Los Angeles.

For academics

Anthropological fieldwork on ethnodoxy in the largest diaspora community; useful alongside the identity-negotiation literature.

For the community

Names something Los Angeles Armenians live every day: the church as the thing that has held a nation together without a state.

For a general reader

How faith and ethnicity fuse for Armenian-Americans in the diaspora's biggest city.

Topics

Armenian diasporaethno-religious identityArmenian Apostolic ChurchLos Angelesanthropology of religion

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