CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Hakobyan, Lilit |
|---|---|
| Title | Gendered Nationalism in Public Education in Rural Armenia |
| Summary | The war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 exacerbated nationalist sentiments in Armenian politics as well as in the social, cultural, and public educational domains. The latter in Armenia, designed and implemented by those in political power, serves for the ideological reproduction of oppressive power relations. This thesis explores the ways in which right-wing nationalist political discourses are reiterated in public education practices. It examines gendered nationalist discourses prevalent in rural Armenian education through an analysis of school public events dedicated to national days. It argues that these after-school activities, designed to construct and maintain national identity, perpetuate gendered hierarchies and expectations. The research unpacks the ways in which gendered nationalist discourses are generated and introduced to students. The study is based on the methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and discourse analysis. It provides an analysis of the narratives in educational public events and reflects on teachers’ roles in shaping everyday school practices. The thesis draws parallels between political rhetoric, social and cultural practices, as well as narratives used in the educational space. It scrutinizes the question in the broader context of post-Soviet transitions, and in light of the local politics of militarization and war. The research examines the intersection of gender, nationalism, and militarism by exposing discursive constructs that perpetuate gender inequality in the education space in rural Armenia. It contributes to the understanding of the role of everyday practices in schools in terms of shaping national and gender identities within Armenian education, by locating local experiences within a broader geopolitical context. |
| Supervisor | Loney Hannah |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/hakobyan_lilit.pdf |
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