Public Events

  • A Foe of Injustice and Prejudice: Srpuhi Dussap and the 19th-Century Western Armenian Feminist Thoughts

    Public talk by Melisa Bilal (Armenia-USA)
    March 22, 2022<

A celebrated revolutionary for many and a scandalous decadent for others, Srpuhi Dussap (1841-1901, Constantinople), often referred to as “the Armenian George Sand” was the first woman novelist of modern Western Armenian literature. A passionate education activist herself, in her feminist essays, she advocated for female education and opposed women’s idleness. Her three romance novels where she exposed the systemic inequalities between sexes and societal ills caused by male supremacy are texts that sculpted the emancipated Armenian woman who is true to herself and owns her life.
In this talk, Melissa will situate Dussap’s life and work within the historical context of social and economic transformations in the late Ottoman Armenian life and discuss the contours of her feminism in relation to the global philosophical currents of her time.

About Melissa Bilal

Melissa Bilal is the Associate Director of the Armenian Music Program and Lecturer in the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA. She is also a core member of the Gender Studies minor program at the American University of Armenia. Melissa studied Sociology (BA and MA) at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, and received her Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Chicago. She taught at the Boğaziçi University and Columbia University․ Bilal’s research focuses on the Armenian experience in relation to Turkey’s minority and memory politics; historical and ethnographic study of Armenian musical practices; and the gender history of the late Ottoman Armenian intellectual life.
While a visiting scholar of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, together with Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu of MIT, Bilal co-launched the annual meeting series Feminist Armenian Studies Workshop and the Feminist Armenian Research Collective.
Ekmekcioglu and Bilal are the co-editors of the book A Cry for Justice: Five Armenian Feminist Writers from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey (1862–1933) in Turkish and are now collaborating on the book and digital humanities project Feminism in Armenian: A History in Documents (Stanford University Press, Forthcoming 2023) which focuses on the lives and works of twelve Armenian feminist writer-activists in the Ottoman and post-Ottoman contexts. Melissa is currently working on her monograph tentatively titled Wake-up Lullaby: Gender Politics of Armenian Indigeneity, Music, and Memory in the late Ottoman Empire and the ethnographic research project Injuries of Reconciliation: Being Armenian in Turkey.

 

  • Patriotic Armenian Women’s Association and Sipil’s Literary and Public Activities

    Public talk by Arpi Atabekyan (Armenia-Germany)

    March 17 on zoom

Sipil was born in 1863 in Scutari, Constantinople. The life of the well-known writer, public speaker and teacher Sipil was fascinating and fruitful. The public talk held by Arpi Atabekyan will reflect on the most important moments and turning points of Sipil’s life, highlighting her big contribution in the education and upbringing of Armenian women.

About Arpi Atabekyan


Arpi was born in 1989 in Yerevan. She graduated from YSU, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Department of Turkish Studies. In 2011 she received a DAAD (Der Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst e. V.) and Humboldt University scholarship.
In 2014 she graduated from Social Sciences in German-Turkish MA program (GeT MA – Middle East Technical University/Humboldt University of Berlin) with a master’s degree.
In 2018 she received a master’s degree in Gender studies programme of Central European University.
Her academic interests are Turkish modernist literature, feminist literature and the sociology of literature. Some of her translation works are:
– 
Elif Shafak – The Bastard of Istanbul, Three Daughters of Eve, Honour

– Orhan Pamuk – My Name is Red, The Black Book, The Red-Haired Woman

- Ahmet Umit – A Memento of Istanbul, and others.

 

  • Feminism and Protection of All Species from Exploitation

    Public workshop conducted by Arpine Galfayan (Armenia)

    April 1, 2022
    FemLibrary Armenia
, 43 Pushkin Str., Apt. 91, Yerevan

The strong connection of the patriarchal system with racist, classist, postcolonial and other oppressive systems has been a part of feminist discussions for several decades. During this meeting we will observe the relationships between feminism and the resistance against the exploitation of other species that live with us on our Planet․ An interactive discussion is planned, as well a reflection on our individual experiences, and much more.

Arpine Galfayan about herself

From 2008 I have been involved in various public struggles, mainly for the protection of nature. However, my work is mostly intersectional; I have been a part of collective efforts for protection of public spaces, social justice, women’s liberation and peace.
Besides that, I often conduct non-formal trainings on self-organization, rights protection and related topics. I practice yoga and also teach some part of it. Together with friends, we are creating a Re-evaluation Counseling community in Armenia. I am also interested in growing plants and in viable water use systems.

Armenian text here.