The Center for Armenian Studies (CAS) at the University of Michigan invites proposals for papers to be presented at the 15th Annual International Graduate Student Workshop (April 10-11, 2026). This workshop will be in-person at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus, under the title “Armenians Apart: Connections, Disconnections, and Tensions in Premodern and Modern Diasporas.”
Diaspora studies tends to emphasize a set of loosely shared commonalities across space and time. This international graduate student workshop leans the other direction, and instead asks: what can aspects of life that are not easily shared across a broader space teach us about the formation and maintenance of “diasporas,” premodern or modern?
We invite graduate students and early career scholars (such as postdoctoral fellows within the first three years of completing a dissertation) to explore tensions and overlooked connections across the Armenian diaspora, as well as to envision fresh possibilities for writing local history against a broader geographic, cultural, or historical backdrop. How might medieval and modern diasporic peoples envision belonging (or not belonging) to something larger from the vantage point of local history? How does being local shape conceptions of other peoples, including one’s own people, in other places? What overlooked networks of connection also run through diasporas, linking Armenians to something else, such as other peoples, empires, trade routes, linguistic communities, or cross-cultural forms of art?
In short: what might being apart, in whatever sense, do? And where does apartness end, and togetherness begin again?
In asking these questions, we seek to consider the linkages, possibilities, and drawbacks in thinking about “diaspora” as a cohort, bringing the modern globe and the premodern world, defined by connections that do not always translate to our contemporary moment, into productive dialogue. Although this conference is centered in Armenian Studies, we welcome contributions from cognate fields and case studies, particularly those that raise fresh questions or propose theoretical interventions that resonate with the themes of the workshop.
Please submit an abstract of 250 words along with a CV by November 15, 2025, using this form.
Successful applicants must submit a paper (10-15 double-spaced pages or fewer) by March 10, 2026, to be circulated among workshop participants. Participants are also welcome to submit a draft of presentation slides at this time. The symposium will prioritize first-time applicants. At the workshop, participants will have 15 minutes to present their main arguments and questions, plus additional time for questions, discussion, and feedback on pre-circulated papers.
CAS will make every effort to cover travel expenses. Per donor guidelines, preference will be given to those traveling from the Republic of Armenia.
This workshop, sponsored by the University of Michigan’s Center for Armenian Studies and funded by the Manoogian Foundation, is organized by Armen Abkarian (PhD student in History) and Michael Pifer (Middle East Studies). For questions, please email armenianstudies@umich.edu.
