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FOLLOW THE NEEDLE: MEMORIAL MATERIALITY OF NEEDLEWORK IN POST-VIOLENCE DIASPORIC ARCHIVES

Objective

This study investigates the role of handcrafted textiles as surviving objects in the post-genocidal Armenian diaspora and focuses on their significance in France, Lebanon, and the US. Initially crafted by women survivors in refugee camps following the massacres in Anatolia, these textiles have evolved from symbols of survival to pivotal elements of cultural preservation and political identity in global contexts. Practices like needlework, are often dismissed in high art as domestic crafts but celebrated for empowerment in development, humanitarianism, and craftivism, serving as tangible manifestations of cultural memory and adaptation, allowing transnational Armenians to reconnect with their heritage while renegotiating gender roles and hybrid identities. Despite extensive scholarship on memorial materiality, personal objects often remain underexplored in discussions of war and displacement within new materialism literature. Similarly, the role of gender in the intergenerational transmission of memories, particularly in diasporic communities and transatlantic migration contexts, is often overlooked. In a context where research on the Armenian Genocide highlights restricted access to official archives, such as the Turkish state's control over historical records, this study explores how textiles can function as everyday and embodied archives, focusing on their sensory information and affective significance. THREADS examines the memorial materiality of textile artefacts, where memories of violence, loss, and resilience intertwine beyond mere symbolic representation to challenge denialist narratives. By employing an innovative methodological approach that integrates archives with multi-modal and multi-sited ethnographic research, this study aspires to enrich the social scientific understanding of material memories and knowledge production related to displacement in the diaspora.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF

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Coordinator

SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES ROYAL CHARTER
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 260 347,92
Address
THORNHAUGH STREET RUSSEL SQUARE
WC1H OXG London
United Kingdom

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

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