Paper short abstract:

In this paper, I will try to explain the affect of being Armenian in Turkey, based on the new political atmosphere after the assassination of Hrant Dink, through the notions of trauma, memory, mourning and melancholy.

Paper long abstract:

The Melancholic Nature of Being Armenian in Turkey:

On January 19 2007, Hrant Dink, an Armenian journalist who had dedicated his life to Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and known by his critiques of Turkey's denial of the Armenian genocide, was assassinated in the street by a radical nationalist. After the event, a strong civil resistance movement was ignited unexpectedly. Istanbul saw one such demonstration. Rather than a mere protest, it was a spontaneous reaction, where a hundred thousand people gathered and started shouting slogans such as: "We are all Armenian, we are all Hrant" and "Long live the brotherhood of the people." In many ways similar to the Armenian genocide of 1915 committed by the Ottoman Empire, the assassination of the Armenian journalist and peace activist Hrant Dink can be seen as an act of militant Turkish nationalism. An act that has left an indelible mark on the Armenian community. In this paper, I will try to explain the affect of being Armenian in Turkey, based on the new political atmosphere after the assassination of Hrant Dink, through the notions of trauma, memory, mourning and melancholy. I will examine the civil associations and organizations founded after the assassination and their healing effect following this traumatic event. This paper will give me the chance to review the literature that turns the corpus of melancholy and trauma upside down by attributing to them an activating role ant to think about how does disquiet become a methodological tool in situations of radical uncertainty.