You have a voice here: implementing Armenian feminist literature within feminist discourse

Author

Grace HartFollow

Graduation Date

Summer 2020

Document Type

Project

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Applied English Studies

Committee Chair Name

Dr. Christina Accomando

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Dr. Lisa Tremain

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Armenian feminist literature, Armenian genocide, Women of color feminism, Women of color feminist literature, Zabel Yessayan, Armenian literature, Feminist literature, Feminist discourse, Armenian history

Subject Categories

English

Abstract

This project melds personal narrative with literary criticism, as it excavates the literature of Armenian writer and political activist Zabel Yessayan, particularly with her novel My Soul in Exile and memoir The Gardens of Silihdar. I argue that the voice of Zabel Yessayan should be included in the feminist women of color discourse within institutions in the United States. I develop this argument by bringing in the works of Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa’s anthology This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color and showing parallels in themes and lenses such as excavating traumatic histories, the importance of personal identity, and using writing as a form of resistance. Zabel Yessayan’s texts and This Bridge both comprise stories conveying the theme of residing in the “in-between,” and topics concerning womanhood, culture, identity, alienation and isolation. Weaving in my own narrative alongside historical and textual analysis, I bring the Armenian woman’s voice into feminist discourse.

Citation Style

MLA

Recommended Citation

Hart, Grace, "You have a voice here: implementing Armenian feminist literature within feminist discourse" (2020). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 415.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/415