Southeast Michigan is home to one of the largest Armenian diasporas in the United States and houses vital Armenian archival institutions, including the Mardigian Library in Southfield and the Armenian Research Center in Dearborn. Despite their significant role in shaping Armenian culture, religion, and history, Armenian women’s voices are underrepresented in formal cultural institutions, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.
Ph.D. student Nazelie Doghramadjian, along with U-M School of Information associate professors Patricia Garcia and Ricky Punzalan, explores this disparity in their paper, “An Archival World Turns: Armenian Women’s Archives in Southeast Michigan,” published in Archival Science. The study examines how Armenian women preserve personal records and the broader implications of these practices for collective memory.
The institution is an important resource, but these women see their children as the ultimate keepers of their records, Doghramadjian said. This is their generational wealth after the genocide, and everything they do is centered around ensuring these records are not forgotten.
The paper highlights how Armenian women in Southeast Michigan intentionally preserve a diverse array of materials—ranging from oral histories and family recipes to letters and photographs—within their homes. These practices, steeped in cultural significance, stand in contrast to the archival silences that have historically marginalized Armenian women’s contributions.
Doghramadjian, now in her third year as a Ph.D. student, focuses her research on how communities create and maintain archives outside of formal institutions. She aims to delve deeper into the archival stewardship of Armenian women, whether they choose to donate records to institutions or preserve them within their families. By challenging conventional notions of archival silences, Doghramadjian seeks to uncover and amplify these less visible forms of archival labor. She currently serves as co-organizer for the Multidisciplinary Workshop for Armenian Studies and the 14th Annual Graduate Workshop in Armenian Studies, titled “The Archive in Theory and Practice in Armenian Studies.”
Read the full paper, “An Archival World Turns: Armenian Women’s Archives in Southeast Michigan,” in Archival Science: International Journal on Recorded Information.
