Migration flows are a major focus of current global debates. In her book Making a Homeland. Roots and Routes of Transnational Armenian Engagement, Tsypylma Darieva looks at a particular form of transnational mobility that she calls diasporic ‘roots mobility’. ‘Roots’ here stands for heritage and ethnic origin, and ‘mobility’ for movement towards and engagement with a specific place: the ‘homeland’. 

Drawing on long-term ethnographic observations in Armenia and the USA, Darieva shows the social and political significance that roots mobility acquires when the mythical homeland becomes a real place and asks what the direct encounter with the ‘ancestral homeland’ means for young people’s diasporic identity and political socialisation. The book talk revolves around the following questions: what are the main challenges faced by second- and later-generation diasporic Armenians in the process of reconnecting to the homeland? What impact does the Armenian diaspora have on the local society in the Republic of Armenia? And to what extent can other diasporic groups appropriate the Armenian diasporic model?

The event will begin with a talk by Tsypylma Darieva about her book, followed by commentaries from Carolin Leutloff-Grandits (European University Viadrina), Hakob Matevosyan (ZOiS), and Guzel Yusupova (FU Berlin).

The book launch is the first session of the ZOiS Caucasus Network in 2024.
Tsyplyma Darieva’s book is available open access at: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-6254-2/making-a-homeland/