William Saroyan: Ethnic and Family Identities in Universal Settings

As a particular cultural production, migration literature, increasingly heralded as a new world literature, internationalised literature or world fiction – is a form of transnational writing, concerned mostly with cosmopolitan issues. The universalism of migration literature, however, is based on national or ethnic tradition. Moreover, it is manifested through original life experiences and attitudes that are typical of ethnic expressions of identities. The significant point that this paper emphasises is the fact that William Saroyan is an author who represents a dynamic Armenian-American cultural blend, moving both universal and ethnic literary expressions to new heights. His works demonstrate clearly both his universality and his adherence to national heritage – his ethnic and family identities are employed in his distinct western settings and tones.

Gorky, Arshile (ca. 1902–1948)

Arshile Gorky was an Armenian American artist whose work and knowledge of European avant-garde art contributed to the development of Abstract Expressionism. Born Vosdanig Adoian in Khorkom, Armenia, Gorky immigrated to the United States in 1920, changed his name and established himself as a self-taught painter in New York City.

Peter Najarian’s Illustrated Memoirs

This chapter discusses Peter Najarian’s illustrated memoirs, autobiographical narratives in book format that incorporate drawings, paintings, and photographs: Daughters of Memory, The Great American Loneliness, and The Artist and His Mother. The son of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Najarian filters the story of his Armenian American family and community through Western art and literature, depicting his legacy of transgenerational trauma. In his assemblage of texts and images, Najarian grapples with the complex issues of representation, memory, history, and subjectivity, forcing readers to look anew.

Health Promotion Behavior Among Hypertensive and Normotensive Armenian Americans

Hypertension presents a significant health risk to both developed and developing countries, affecting approximately 78 million Americans of various ethnic backgrounds. Though a great deal of research about hypertension and minority groups has been published, no studies were located about hypertension in the Armenian American population, despite evidence of health disparities in this population. The purpose of the present study was to examine the differences in health promotion behavior between hypertensive and normotensive Armenian Americans. A quantitative approach was used to examine the relationship between hypertensive status and health promotion behavior. With a sample size of <em>n </em>= 204, this study found that while there was no significant difference in overall Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile scores, the normotensive group scored higher on physical activity and stress management. These differences remained significant even when controlling for body mass index. Additionally, the study found high smoking rates and elevated body mass index across both samples. These results suggest that interventions that target stress management and physical activity and use the cultural strengths of interpersonal relationships and spiritual growth may be the most effective. This information may be used as a foundation in future interventional studies and may create significant social change by decreasing hypertension among the Armenian American population and increasing awareness of risk factors and prevention.

Non-Verbal Communication and Cues in Armenian-American Literary Discourse

Communication is foundation of life. Literature is a universal form of communication. Writers communicate beliefs, ideas, experiences, feelings and thoughts. Armenian-American literature is a huge source of communication. Armenian-American writers who migrated to the USA throughout various time periods bring unique storylines and techniques to literature. Nonverbal communication is known to be the more honest part of human communication. Understanding communication requires combined analysis of verbal and nonverbal communication. This research identifies features of nonverbal communication incorporated in literary texts. Nonverbal cues incorporated in literary texts are seemingly minor yet vital features which sometimes are left out of the readers’ attention. The following literary works were chosen for the research: Peter Balakian’s Black Dog of Fate (1997, memoir), Micheline Aharonian Marcom’s Three Apples Fell from Heaven (2001, fiction). The chosen samples include writings which have not been widely analysed especially from communication theory aspects. The main analysis method utilized was close reading of the texts. Further, research can be done to analyse poetry collections to identify whether nonverbal cues are as significantly used in poetry as they are used in stories and novels.