AUA Professor Explores Fragile Migrant Identity

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YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) College of Humanities and Social Sciences is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Robert Tyler’s latest article has been accepted for publication in History: The Journal of the Historical Association.

The article, titled “Old Identity, New Land: The Welsh Immigrant Community in Monroe County, Iowa, USA, 1870–1920,” will appear in the journal’s September 2025 issue. It explores the remarkable story of a Welsh-speaking immigrant community in the American Midwest that underwent complete cultural assimilation within two generations.

“For most immigrant groups, cultural assimilation spans multiple generations, but in the case of Monroe County, Welsh identity — rooted in language, religion, and distinct institutions — essentially vanished within 30 to 40 years,” Dr. Tyler said.

Drawing on census records, religious archives, contemporary histories, and newspaper reports in both the English and Welsh language press, the study examines how Welsh immigrants quickly adapted to American society. Unlike many other immigrant populations, the Welsh were highly exogamous, marrying outside their ethnic group, adopted English rapidly, and remained residentially dispersed, rather than forming ethnic enclaves. “They were white, Protestant, Republican in political affiliation, and already equipped with industrial skills,” Dr. Tyler said, adding, “These factors helped them integrate faster and more fully into American life.”

A surprising finding discussed in the article is the consistent pattern across various Welsh-American communities: although they often built churches upon arrival, internal sectarian divisions led to fragmentation. “This weakened their ability to preserve community cohesion in general and the Welsh language in particular.” he explained.

Dr. Tyler, who has spent years researching and publishing on Welsh diasporic communities in the United States and Australia, noted that this article is one of several forthcoming publications. He has an article accepted for publication in Middle West Review, titled “Culture and Culture maintenance: The Welsh in Gas City, Grant County, Indiana, USA, 1890-1910,” and another written in Welsh for Cylchrawn Hanes Pobl Cymru / Journal of Welsh People’s History. “Even if a Welsh-language article doesn’t count toward citation indexes, this kind of multilingual scholarly contribution is important for a variety of reasons,” he highlighted.

Dr. Tyler teaches several courses at AUA, including The Study of History, History of the Modern World, and Freshman Seminar. His decision to join AUA was, in part, driven by a broader interest in how diaspora communities maintain or lose their cultural identities over time. “I came here to AUA because, among other things, I was interested in the Armenian diaspora,” he remarked.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.