Podcasting Feminism in Post-Revolution Armenia

Episode 426

with Anahit Ghazaryan & Gohar Khachatrian

hosted by Chris Gratien

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In this episode, we sit down with Anahit and Gohar, creators of Akanjogh: Armenia's first podcast about feminism. The name of their program plays on the Armenian words for "earring" and "take heed," and the goal of this program is to grab a new Armenian audience of podcast listeners by the ear and draw their attention to enduring importance of feminist thought in the context of Armenia's new post-Revolution politics. In our conversation, we talk about the joys and challenges of pioneering a nascent podcast culture in Armenia, as well as some of the issues that Akanjogh tackles in each of its episodes. We also discuss how feminist consciousness fits into the broader political transformation that is currently underway in Armenia and the role that podcasts may play in teaching the Armenian diaspora about the perspectives of the new generation that has grown up in the independent Republic of Armenia.

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Contributor Bios

	Anahit Ghazaryan holds a B.A. of Philology and Qualification of a Teacher in the field of Armenian Language and Literature and M.A. of Philology in the field of World Literature and Literary Theory from Yerevan State University. She has studied at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Yerevan, from 2014 until 2016. Prior to 2014, Anahit has worked as a radio reporter for a local radio station in Armenia for two years. Currently, she is conducting research on the life and work of Mariam Shahinyan (1911-1996), the first female photographer in Turkey. Anahit's favorite pastime is forcing her friends and random people she meets to write a poem with her.
	In addition to working on Akanjogh, Gohar Khachatrian is Program Manager at Birthright Armenia. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the Yerevan State Institute of Economics and M.S. in Political Science and International Affairs from the American University of Armenia. As an introvert, Gohar enjoys mostly solitary activities but will also totally come to your party if you bring a dog.
	Chris Gratien is Assistant Professor of History at University of Virginia, where he teaches classes on global environmental history and the Middle East. He is currently preparing a monograph about the environmental history of the Cilicia region of the former Ottoman Empire from the 1850s until the 1950s.

Credits

Episode No. 426
Release Date: 9 September 2019
Recording Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Music: Zé Trigueiros; kara güneş
Audio editing by Chris Gratien

Images

Anahit and Gohar editing and organizing interviews for Episode 3 of Akanjogh

An Armenian translation of "We Should All Be Feminists" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Anahit, Chris, and Gohar (left to right) recording in Yerevan, July 2019

More Listening

Stream Episode 3 of Akanjogh entitled "Boys Don't Cry (Մի՛ լացի, դու տղա ես)" and others using the player below