The making of the Zoryan Institute: A national research centre and diaspora studies

In the late 1970s, a small group of Armenians absorbed with questions about their history, their identity, and their future as a nation, concluded that there was a crucial need for a place to think critically about the Armenian reality. These individuals, propelled by deeply felt intellectual concerns and compelled by a strong desire for change, set about to conceptualize an institution that would provide a forum for free and critical thinking about contemporary issues affecting the Armenian people through an analytical, scholarly, and detached process. This forum would facilitate intellectuals and the community at large to raise substantial questions about contemporary Armenian history and identity and would help to develop new perspectives on vital issues, both current and future. Among its primary goals would be for the Armenian people to express their history in their own voice and to define themselves, to understand the forces and factors that have brought them to where they are today, and to help the education and involvement of the people in a higher level of discourse without claiming to have all the answers. This process would include the continuous, systematic re-examination and re-evaluation of their reality.

In 1982, this small group of Armenians founded the Zoryan Institute with the goal of conducting out research and documentation in three areas that were either neglected or not studied with sufficiently high standards of scholarship: Genocide, Diaspora, and Armenian Studies.

The modern Armenian diaspora is shaped by key events which have caused waves of emigration, namely the 1915 Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, the events of WWII, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, over two-thirds of the Armenians live outside of Armenia proper, dispersed across North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. With such a large diaspora, it was critical to understand the phenomenon of diaspora as a foundational point of reference, collective diasporic concerns, and local experiences across the various diaspora centres. Issues such as assimilation, loss of language, intermarriage, preservation of culture, and the struggle for genocide recognition were all shared concerns across the Armenian diaspora.

A number of questions emerged when examining identity within the diaspora: What does it mean for a diasporan Armenian to be Armenian when they have not lived in Armenia for generations–in some cases for centuries? What are the markers of Armenian identity — language, religion, a nation-state? Can one have multiple cultural identities, and if sohow do they interact? Is one cultural identity dominant, and if so, what are the implications of this dominance? Finally, what is the role of the diaspora in Armenia’s future as an independent nation and homeland?

In search of answers to these questions, Zoryan engaged its diaspora studies division in several projects, programs, and publications to further expand the existing scholarship on diaspora through the comparative study of other diasporas. One of Zoryan’s initiatives was the establishment in 1989 of the academic journal of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies where the Institute’s founding members entered into a contract with Oxford University Press, investing $125,000 (valued at approximately $500,000 today). Diaspora received critical acknowledgement of its content (Best New Journal, Council of Editors of Learned Journals’ International Awards Competition, 1991). The journal was conceptualized by Professor Tololyan of Wesleyan University, who managed as the founding editor until 2020. he Institute acknowledges his contributions to the journal’s success and celebrates his intellectual legacy.

In dealing with contemporary Armenian realities, it would have been impossible not to deal with the presence and influence of Armenia on the diaspora. Articles like “Between Ambivalence and Intrusion: Politics and Identity in Armenia-Diaspora Relations”, “The Myth and Reality of “Return” — Diaspora in the “Homeland””, and “We Are All Armenian: Voices from the Diaspora” examined the complexities of Armenia-Diaspora relations.

Unfortunately, Diaspora soon faced financial challenges; the deficit of the first two volumes in 1991 and 1992, amounted to over $75,000. Low subscribership due to the limited market universe for the journal and high operational costs significantly delayed publication and production, prompting the Institute’s board to find a more feasible arrangement. As such, the Zoryan Institute and the University of Toronto Press (UTP), entered a 50/50 partnership and Diaspora was moved to its new home where the journal continues to be published today.

For many, Armenia represented the concept of a homeland–a cultural and spiritual centre, and a guarantor of nationhood for all Armenian nationhood. However, Armenia has also been a source of serious friction withinvarious elements of the Armenian diaspora. There exist conflicting views of whether security, economic viability, religious freedom, and cultural identity are better preserved in today’s Armenia. The Institute felt that the diaspora had a special responsibility to fill a certain void in the homeland.

The Zoryan Institute has come a long way over the past 42 years owing to the dedication and efforts of its founders, Academic Board of Directors, associated scholars, editors, staff, and numerous committed volunteers and donor-supporters. Zoryan’s work is not just an intellectual exercise–it is designed to serve as a forum for research, analysis, raising awareness and creating discourse for the purpose of developing and planning practical concepts related to the nation’s future and diaspora-homeland relations. Reflecting on where the nation was when Zoryan was established compared to today, it is evident that the global landscape has radically transformed. Today, the Soviet Union is gone, and Armenia is independent, with a prosperous and vibrant Diaspora.
As a nation-state, Armenia once again has the opportunity to define its identity, to shape its future, and to make its place among the family of nations within international norms. As it has in the past, the Zoryan Institute will continue in its pursuits to contribute to the intellectual frameworks that support Armenia’s development and enhance diaspora engagement.