In(Sight) House Talks: “You’re not Armenian enough”

About the Event:

“You’re not Armenian enough” is a graphic novel. As a Filipino third-culture kid who grew up in the Philippines, Nepal, and Armenia, Samantha Adalia (BAEC ’23) found unlikely allies in the Armenian Diasporans she befriended in Yerevan. Despite their vast differences, she found that she could connect deeply with them because of the challenges they had with homesickness, adjusting to the local culture and language, and searching for their identity. Adalia chose her interviewees from a diverse group of young Armenian Diasporans. In addition to entertaining readers with her graphic novel, she aims to inform local Armenians about the Diasporan experience. She also hopes other Diasporan or third-culture kid readers will find themselves in the pages of her graphic novel and know that they are not alone, as she herself had felt.

In(Sight) House Talks is part of a larger ongoing initiative, Oral History Matters, that is meant to make oral history more visible as a research methodology. The series is an extension of the exhibition collectively curated by a team of recently graduated AUA students in August 2023, showcasing their research creation projects and capstones. How can oral history open up space for forms of knowledge that have been denied and silenced by dominant and oppressive research practices? How can we build deep connections with our research participants? What insights do we gain from them about our research process and ourselves as researchers? How do we voice silences? These are some of the questions the speakers will explore.

To stay updated about all upcoming events, follow @oralhistorymatters on Instagram. If you have missed any of In(Sight) House Talks, you can watch them on YouTube @oralhistorymatters.

About the Speaker:

Samantha Adalia (BAEC ’23)

Samantha Adalia earned her B.A. in English and communications from the American University of Armenia. Previously based in the Philippines and Nepal, she became the valedictorian speaker of her graduating class of 2023 and is one of the founding members of Oral History Matters. At AUA, she gave a TEDx Talk and served as an illustrator for The Highlander student magazine. Her research interests include diaspora studies, (post)colonialism, and Armenian history. She has explored presenting the results of her research through the medium of the graphic novel. She is taking a gap year before pursuing her master’s degree, while undertaking various creative projects.

Language: English