“Anglo-Saxons of the East”: Redefining Armenians in Early Twentieth Century America

Abstract

This thesis focuses on an important work of Armenian American identity––The Armenians in America by M. Vartan Malcom. While previously known as a source of statistical and quantitative information on early Armenian American history, the text also provided a voice to Armenian Americans in an era where the American public knew them only through paternalistic aid campaigns and fundraiser slogans in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. To analyze The Armenians in America as a work to redefine the Armenian American identity, this paper turns to Jewish studies for inspiration. Jewish studies historiography boasts a highly developed framework for understanding how Jewish Americans redefined themselves in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, offering a useful tool for studying Armenian Americans as well.